Into The Blue
by Miss E Charlotte
Summary: After being away from home for the last few years, Noelle has finally returned and reunites with her childhood friend, Jamie Reagan. The two slip back into their comfortable friendship, but he knows she is keeping something from him. Can he figure out what happened to her and the truth behind his brother's death? • Season One • Jamie x OC
1. Memories Of Home

**01; Memories Of Home**

Noelle Kelley stood surrounded by the crowd, cheering along with the others, as a sea of blue filled into the room, marching toward their seats. She began to cheer louder when her eyes landed on a smiling Jamie Reagan in his uniform. He hadn't seen her yet, but she saw his family earlier outside. She made them promise they wouldn't tell him she was there yet. She wanted her arrival to be a surprise.

She couldn't help but flash back to their childhood, all the times he wanted to play 'cops and robbers'. She couldn't count the times he put his father's cap on his head and grabbed a pair of handcuffs and tried to 'arrest' her. Sometimes they would team up as partners and beg his older brother, Joe, or her older brother, Baylor, to be the robbers.

It was fun, but being a cop wasn't in her blood like it was his. She wasn't surprised at all when she heard he changed his mind and went to the academy. She was more surprised when he went to Harvard Law before.

Hearing his father, Frank, the current police commissioner, speak pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her to sit back down in her chair.

The older Reagan had always been like a second father to her. He treated her the way he would his other kids. If she did something wrong; like the time he caught her sneaking into Jamie's bedroom window one night after a night of her parents and older brother fighting. He had set her down, telling her she was always welcomed there, but she couldn't climb in the window.

Or if she did something good; like graduating at the top of her class and was accepted to Harvard University with Jamie. He was as proud of her as her own parents were. She still remembered the beaming smile on his face as he gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"It is with profound praise and gratitude that I welcome you new police officers, proud that you have answered the call to service and today join the ranks of New York's finest." Frank said into the microphone, starting his speech. "You have earned the distinction of being the best trained, best prepared police officers in the world, ready to serve and protect the most vibrant city in the world, where every day brings a responsibility to keep all New Yorkers safe- safe from crime... and safe from terrorism.

"And though the city is on the very cutting edge of technology, nothing... replaces your unwavering sense of right and wrong and your eyes and ears on the street. And we remain safe because of the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the New York City Police Department.

"Now, we all wear the same blue uniform, carry the same shield. Now you are a part of the finest police force in the world. Congratulations to your families, your friends, and congratulations to you, our new... New York City police officers."

Noelle jumped to her feet with the rest of the crowd, cheering wildly as the new officers stood up and threw their white gloves into the air and began to congratulate their fellow graduate.

She couldn't stop smiling as her eyes landed on Jamie in the crowd of blue. She had no doubt he would be a great cop and he could make a great difference, it was the first thought that popped in her head when she heard of his career change.

Knowing he would be out there, making the city a better place, made her glad she decided to move back home and it made her feel safe; which was a feeling she hadn't felt in a few months.

•••

Once the ceremony was over, she made her way outside with the rest of the crowd. Her small, 5′ 2″ frame, tried to cut through the large group of people as she tried to locate any member of the Reagan family.

A wide smile appeared on her face when she saw Jamie, along with his family, several feet ahead. She excused herself and apologized numerous times as she began to push her way through the crowd again, getting closer to them.

"Jimmy Jam!" Jamie heard a familiar voice call out. There had only been one person who called him that; one person he hasn't seen in over a year- the person he had missed so much it hurt, the one person who had known him more than he even knew himself sometimes.

He spun around, seeing her bright smile as she made her way past a group of people, creating a clear shot to him and was finally able to rush over toward him.

"Nol!" He called out her childhood nickname, meeting her halfway and wrapping his arms around her, spinning her around and grinning when he heard her let out a squeal of laughter.

"What are you- I didn't know you were coming!" He exclaimed with a surprised look on his face as he placed her feet back on the ground.

"That's why it's called a surprise, goof." Noelle laughed. She laid a hand on his shoulder, feeling her heart flip-flop as old feelings came rushing back. "Did you really think I would miss this?"

"No, but I-I wasn't sure. I had hoped though." Jamie said. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her toward him again for a hug and let out a groan,"God, I missed you, Nol."

"I missed you too, Jams." She added as she squeezed him tight. This was the first time she had seen him in about fifteen months, since that day at the cemetery when they buried his older brother, Joe.

Understandably so, the two childhood friends didn't get to talk much that day before she had to head for the airport to fly back home, which at the time was Florida. She had tried to call him a few times, but between her work and his grieving, they mostly played phone tag for the last year.

"Come on." Jamie said as he pulled back to break the hug. Grabbing her hand, he began to pull her back toward his family. "Everyone's here and I know they'll be happy to see you."

"They are." Noelle stated. When he glanced over his shoulder to shoot her a confused look, she added,"I saw them earlier before the ceremony started."

"Why didn't they tell me?" He questioned. She opened her mouth to answer him, but before she could, they came to a stop in front the whole Reagan clan.

"None of you could have told me Noelle was here?" He accused them as he looked at each one.

"Hey, Little Bit threatened us not to say anything." Danny explained, while his wife, Linda, and his sister, Erin, gave the girl in question a hug. The brunette hugged the remaining Reagan family, then mumbled out a hello to Sydney.

"You're a big, strong, detective, yet you're scared of one little female." Linda teased her husband.

"That's because he knows she can beat him." Jamie added.

"I think he's been scared of her since she hit him in the head with a frying pan." Erin laughed.

"You hit Dad with a frying pan?" Sean, Danny's youngest son, asked.

"It wasn't a frying pan." Danny corrected. "It was a cast iron skillet. There's a difference. It's heavier and it hurts."

"And it was an accident." Noelle stated. Pointing a finger at Danny, she added,"You shouldn't have scared us."

"I wasn't trying to!" He explained.

"What happened?" His other son, Jack, asked with a laugh.

"I was trying to sneak in." Danny answered. Turning his attention to his brother, Jamie, and Noelle, he added,"How was I to know you two were watching a horror movie?"

"That was his fault." Noelle said, pointing at Jamie, who was standing beside her.

"Always blaming me." Jamie muttered, before shooting her a playful smile.

"That's because you are usually to blame, Jams." Noelle joked as she poked him in the side, then quickly dropped her hand when she saw Sydney shoot her a look.

The two girls never got along. Even though Noelle never admitted it out loud, Sydney knew she was in love with her fiancé- but she was always quick to remind Noelle of her place in Jamie's life.

"Is it true that Grandpa didn't punish you for sneaking in after your curfew?" Nicky asked her Uncle Danny, having heard the story numerous times over the years.

"That is correct." Frank said with a nod. "I figured the bump on his head was punishment enough."

"This explains so much." Linda joked as she teased her husband.

Once the laughter died down, Jamie turned to his friend,"So are you just here for a visit or..."

"Yeah, when do you fly back home?" Sydney questioned, hoping the brunette wasn't hanging around for long. She could only tolerate her in small doses.

"I'm not. I'm here to stay." Noelle smiled. "I'm moving back home."

"That's great, Nol." He said, throwing an arm around her and pulling her toward him in a sideways hug. Having his best friend back in town was the best news he had heard all day. The two had been inseparable growing up, They even went to the same college, until she hightailed it to Florida with no explanation, which surprised them all.

"That is great news." Frank said, smiling at the younger girl.

"It is." Henry agreed. "It wasn't the same around here without you."

"Thank you." She said, smiling at the oldest Reagan. "I can honestly say Florida was boring without the Reagans."

"Well, we're glad to have you back." Erin said happily to the younger girl.

"Yeah, and now that you're back, you'll have to come to Sunday dinner." Nicky suggested.

"Uh, I don't know." Noelle hesitated, not wanting to intrude on a Reagan tradition. She had went to plenty of dinners when she was younger, but that was years ago.

"You have to come!" Jack said, as his younger brother called out,"Yeah!"

"Seriously, you have to come." Jamie quietly said in her ear. Turning his head to look at her, he grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze, causing her skin to tingle.

"I'll try." Noelle said. "I have a lot of unpacking to do before I start work next week, but I'll try."

"Good." Jamie said as he continued to smile at her, missing the look on his fiancée's face.

Before anyone else could say anything, he heard someone called out his name and looked over Noelle's head to see one of his fellow graduates making her way toward him.

"Hey, Reagan, we made it." An officer named, Maria Romano, said.

"Yeah!" Jamie said, turning toward her.

The woman turned toward the commissioner as she said,"Congratulations, boss."

"Dad, this is Officer Romano." Jamie said, introducing the woman.

"First woman recruit to win the sharpshooter medal." Frank said impressed as he shook her hand. "Well done."

"Thank you, sir." She said back, before turning her attention to the rest of the family as she added,"I just wanted to say hello."

Seeing how close Jamie was standing to a pretty brunette, she nodded toward her as she guessed,"You must be... Sydney, right?"

"Oh, no, this is an old friend of mine." Jamie corrected her as he laid his hands on Noelle's shoulders, bringing her into the conversation.

"I'm Sydney." She said, introducing herself as she poked her head out from behind Jamie. She offered the officer a congratulations, then stepped back behind her fiancé with her arms folded across her chest.

"I'm sorry. I just assumed-"

"It's okay." Jamie said, cutting off Maria as she tried to apologize.

"I'm Noelle."

"Oh, Noelle!" Maria said. "Reagan had a lot of stories about you." She added with a chuckle, causing Sydney to turn her head and roll her eyes.

"All lies I'm sure." Noelle said, shooting Jamie a look, before playfully punching him in the stomach.

"No, see, she's as horrible as I told you." Jamie joked as he lightly tickled her side, causing her to wiggle away from him before letting out a laugh.

Maria, as well as all the Reagans', laughed at the old friends antics, before the officer turned toward Jamie, telling him she'll see him around. He nodded bye at her, then turned his attention to Noelle when she hit him again for tickling her earlier, causing him to tickle her again.

The two were laughing along with each other as if they were in their own world, until they noticed his family watching them with an amused look on their faces, causing them to fall silent.

Watching the two clowning around was nothing unusual, it was the way the two friends had acted all their lives. The only one who didn't seem to like it was Sydney. It had always annoyed her to see the two play fighting or being all touchy with each other.

With his family's eyes on him, Jamie knew he had to say something. He gave them a shrug,"I told her stories of our childhood."

"We got that." Sydney said, flashing him a tight smile.

"Well, the gang's all here." Frank began to say, changing the subject. "I guess we should be getting over to the Breslin."

"Oh, sorry, but first-year associates don't get lunch." Sydney apologized. Even if she could go, after seeing her fiancé and Noelle going back and forth, she had lost her appetite. "I'm lucky they let me out for this."

Deciding to put Noelle in her place, she turned to Jamie, giving him a bright smile,"It was amazing." After Jamie smiled down at her, she raised up to press her lips against his, giving him a gentle kiss.

Seeing the couple kissing, Noelle kept a fake smile on her face, before glancing down at the ground. With her eyes lowered, she didn't notice the way Frank was watching her with a knowing look on his face. In his opinion it wasn't hard to see how Noelle felt for his son. He had always had his suspicions, but seeing the pain and discomfort on her face now, it was obvious.

After calling out bye to everyone, Sydney began to walk away from the small group. As Danny's cell phone began to ring, Linda spoke to Jamie,"She seems to be handling this well, you being a cop."

"We're working on it." Jamie said with a tense smile. It hadn't been easy since he switched careers, but they were still trying, which had to mean something, right?

"It can't be easy after watching you bury your brother." Linda sadly added, causing everyone to think of the fallen Reagan that was always missed.

"Joe died doing what he loved to do." Henry said. Like everyone else, it destroyed him to lose one of his grandson's, but he had to believe that. He had to believe that Joe died doing what he loved most, being a cop.

Ending the phone call, Danny walked back over to the small group, giving his brother's shoulder a pat,"Little brother, I'm gonna have to buy you a beer another time." After Jamie nodded his head in understanding, he added,"I got a missing kid. Got to go."

"You up to catch a case?" Frank asked his son.

"Yeah, Dad." Danny answered. "Demarcus is on his way. I'll see you guys later." He gave his wife a quick kiss and told his sons bye, then walked away from the group.

"Well, I guess it's just us for lunch." Frank said to his remaining family.

"Won't you have to do a press conference?" Jamie questioned his dad.

"I will, but there's not a lot of information at the moment." He answered. He laid a hand on his shoulder, a smile on his face,"Plus, I always have time to take my son out for a celebration."

"Okay." Jamie said as he flashed his father a smile. "Let's go then."

Glancing over at Noelle, Frank said,"You're more than welcomed to join us. We can celebrate your homecoming as well."

"Thanks for the invite, but I should head home." Noelle said, remembering the looks Sydney flashed her earlier. The last thing she wanted to do was start some unnecessary drama or step on any toes. Turning to her friend, she gave him a big hug, then raised up on her tiptoes, before whispering in his ear,"I am _so_ proud of you, Jams."

She gave the others a hug, making promises to see them all again soon. Jamie was silent for a moment as he watched her walk away.

For so long, she was a big part of his life, then he barely saw her or talked to her in the past few years. Now she was back, and he wasn't quite ready to watch her leave him again so soon. Looking over at his family, he asked them to give him a minute, then he began to follow along behind her.

"Hey, Noelle, wait." He said as he reached out to lightly grab her arm to stop her. When she turned around to face him, he added,"Come to lunch with us."

"I shouldn't." She said as she flashed him an apologetic smile.

"Why not?" He asked confused. "You're like family; actually, you are family, you should be there." He added, assuming maybe she just didn't want to interrupt a family moment. It never crossed his mind that it had anything to do with Sydney.

"I know, it's not that... it's-"

"It's what?"

"It's just... I just got back. I need to get settled in, you know?" She explained.

"Well, what about tonight?" He questioned. "We can grab dinner or a beer?"

"I don't know-"

"Come on, Nol, just one beer." He pleaded as he flashed her that smile that always made her weak in the knees; the one that was hard to say no to, but she knew she had to stick to her guns.

"Jamie, I can't." She softly said, wishing she didn't have to turn him down. She had missed him just as much as he had missed her, if not more. "I got all of that unpacking to do, remember?"

"Okay." He said with a small nod, trying not to feel disappointed.

"We'll get together soon though." She promised, feeling bad for upsetting him. When he nodded his head at her comment, she rushed forward to give his cheek a quick peck before turning and walking away from him before she changed her mind.

Jamie stood in place as he watched her get further and further away from him. He wished he could have made her stay, he didn't understand why she was so adamant against going to lunch. The Noelle he knew wouldn't turn down food, a chance to be around his family or spend time with him. Did the years and the distance ruin them? Was there a way to get back what they had?

"It's good to have her back, isn't it?" He heard his dad say as he came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, it is." Jamie said honestly with a nod. "I just don't know if it's the same Noelle that left years ago."

"It is." Frank said. When his son turned his head to look at him, he continued,"It's in the eyes; she's the same. It's just, like us, she has seen her share of pain and heartache too, but that heart is still the same. You'll just have to see her as she is now."

"How's that?" Jamie asked.

"Grown up." Frank answered. "She's all grown up now, son."

"Yeah she is." Jamie mumbled as he glanced back over at her, watching her retreating form. His father was right, she wasn't a little kid anymore. He had always thought she was cute; she was his best friend, but he had eyes- he had always noticed her looks, but the older she got, the more beautiful she became.

He swallowed hard as he felt a fluttering in his stomach, then quickly brushed those thoughts aside. He couldn't look at her as a kid anymore, but he couldn't look at her in that way either, he was engaged for crying out loud.

Frank glanced over at his son, a slight chuckle escaped his lips as he recognized the look on his face. He had a feeling things were gonna get very complicated between the two friends. He just hoped they found a way to figure it all out before they ruined a lifelong friendship.

"Come on, son, let's go celebrate." He added as he turned the younger boy around and began to lead him back over toward his family. "Just don't give up. She's too important to give up."

"I know, Dad, I know." Jamie nodded as the girl in question crossed his mind, only this time, he didn't force himself to stop thinking of her.

•••

Later that evening, Noelle gathered her long brown hair and pulled it into a messy ponytail, before reaching out to grab another box.

After attending Jamie's graduation, she arrived home, peeled out the dress she had worn and jumped into the shower. As the warm water rained over her body, she was hit with memory after memory. She had a lot of great memories tied to this city and 90% of those memories were tied to Jamie.

She was glad to be back, she didn't regret coming home, but she knew it was going to be hard to keep her feelings in check. She thought it would be easier, but after only being around him once, all the old feelings came rushing back, as well as the heartache.

She would never say anything though- he was still with Sydney, and she wasn't the type to steal another girl's man. Plus the last thing she needed was any drama in her life. She had enough of that in Florida, coming back was supposed to be a fresh start.

Now with her most comfortable pajamas on, she was working as if in a daze as she unpacked box after box, trying to get her bedroom set up exactly how she wanted.

She figured she would start in there first; a bedroom had always been her safe place growing up, her own personal oasis when her parents and brother was having one of their regular screaming matches. She hoped some of those feelings would be in her new bedroom, she just wanted to feel safe again.

She placed the box on top of her dresser, then opened it, a smile tugged at her lips when she saw the box was filled with pictures of her youth.

She picked up several pictures, then took a few steps back to sit down on her queen sized bed. She flipped through each picture, there was some of her family; her parents and her brother. There were also tons of pictures of every Reagan family member, but most of the pictures were of her and Jamie.

She paused at a certain picture, a chuckle escaped her lips, when she recognized the picture from her eleventh birthday. She had wanted a superhero theme, but her mother forced her to have a princess theme.

Her mother had always pushed her to dress like a normal little girl; wear puffy dresses and cute skirts instead of cut off jean shorts and t-shirts. In her mother's mind, she already had one son, she didn't need another one.

After having to sit miserably through the birthday party her mother threw, Jamie had pulled her aside, telling her he had a surprise for her. He took her to their treehouse, where he had the inside decorated with superhero type decorations. He had even saved up money to buy her a small cake with superhero figurines on top. The only thing he forgot... utensils, meaning they had to eat the cake with their hands, which turned into a food fight.

In the picture the two were wearing most of the cake, the majority of it on their faces. Jamie was holding the camera, while her forehead was pressed against the side of his face and she laughed out loud. She remembered he had his other arm wrapped around her and was tickling her side, which caused the burst of laughter as he snapped the picture.

She also remembered right after the picture she had attacked him to get back at him. The two ended up on the floor rolling around as they began to play fight until she ended up on her back with him above her. The two stared at each other for a moment until he leaned down and gave her another present- her first kiss.

Hearing a knock at the door, she shot up from the bed, her eyebrows lowered in concern as she wondered who could be at her door. She wasn't expecting any company, she hadn't called for any take-out and only her parents knew her address.

Tossing the pictures down on the bed, she reached out to grab a ball bat that she placed near the bed. She raised it above her head and took a shaky breath, before exiting the room and slowly making her way down the small hallway.

She tiptoed across the living room without a sound, something she got good at recently. When she got to the door, she peeked out the hole in the middle of the door, then blew out a sigh of relief when she recognized the person standing on the other side.

Propping the bat by the door, she reached out to unlock the two chain locks and three deadbolts before opening the door and flashing Jamie a smile.

"Hey, Jams."

"Hey, Nol." Holding up a single bottle of beer, he asked,"You have time for that beer now?" He was taking his father's words to heart, he was not going to give up on her.

"You just can't take no for an answer, can you?" She joked as she laid her head against the door.

"Have I ever?" He questioned with a laugh. "Look, you said you needed to unpack and we need to catch up, so I figured win-win."

"Come in." She said, stepping back and opened the door wider, causing him to smile.

He reached down to grab the other beers and a bag of food, before walking in behind her. While she shut the door behind him, he glanced over the living room, seeing all the boxes sitting around.

"You weren't kidding. You do have a lot of unpacking to do."

"I told you." She laughed as she took a beer from the six-pack he was holding.

"It looks like you haven't unpacked anything." He stated. "At least not in here, but let me guess- you started in the bedroom?"

"You know me too well." She said, taking a sip from the bottle, then shoved some things aside to make room on the coffee table.

Jamie placed the things in his hands on the table, then grabbed a couple of boxes from the couch to make room for them. He placed the boxes on the floor beside the couch, then plopped down on the couch beside her.

"You've always been picky about your room." He laughed as the memory hit him. "The color and patterns had to be just right, things had to be placed in a certain spot. If anything was out of order it would drive you crazy."

"It was my safe haven. The only place that was really mine and I could do anything with it." Noelle explained. "Plus, Baylor always had a bad habit of borrowing something and not putting it back in the right spot and I could never find it again, that is what use to drive me crazy."

"He probably pawned it, not lost it." Jamie pointed out. Taking a sip of his beer, he noticed her out of the corner of his eye messing with the label on her bottle. He sat up to lay a hand on top of hers to stop her as he whispered,"Hey, I'm sorry, Nol. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to upset you-"

"You didn't." She cut him off with a sad smile. "Besides, you're probably right. He probably did."

"Have you talked to Baylor lately?" He questioned.

She shook her head, then said,"No. It's been months since I heard from him."

With his attention fully on her, she blew out a breath before saying,"One day, he just called me out of the blue, giving me this sob story about how he was clean and found a job, but his boss was a dick and wouldn't give him his full pay and his rent was past due. He said he needed $800 by the end of the week or he was going to be kicked out."

"So you sent him the money." Jamie said as a statement instead of a question. He knew she could never say no to her brother; no matter what bad thing he did. She always wanted to believe he could change and be better, but time and time again he let her down and took advantage of her kind heart.

"Wired it to him the very next day." She sighed.

Pausing for a moment to take a sip of her beer, she continued,"A few days later, I called him back to make sure he got it and he was high out of his mind. He barely knew who I was in that moment, much less that he had spoken to me recently. I haven't talked to him since and according to Dad he's holed up somewhere; which we all know means he'll be on a bender until he runs out of money or gets into some kind of trouble again."

"I can try to find him for you." He suggested, he can tell from the look on her face she was worried about her big brother.

"You don't have to do that, Jams." She said, flashing him a smile to let him know she appreciated the offer. "Dad keeps tabs on him, at least the best he can. When he comes out of hiding, we'll know."

Her father had worked with one of the precincts until he retired to take care of her mother when her health took a turn for the worst.

"I bet your parents are glad you're home."

"Yeah, Dad is and Mom..." She paused a moment to get control of her emotions. "Well, I don't think she knows what is going on half the time."

"I would go visit your parents sometimes. I mean, while you were gone." He said.

Nodding her head, she gave him a soft smile. "I know, Dad told me. Thank you for that."

"It's not a problem... really, I love your parents like they are my own." He said. "Sometimes when I visit, me and your Mom would sit for hours and tell stories after stories and other times she's calling me Baylor."

"Don't take it personally. Sometimes she calls me Baylor too." A sad smile appeared on her face,"That's the Alzheimer's talking though. That's what I always tell myself, but it's so hard seeing her like that."

"I know." He softly said, hating the pained look on her face and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He reached out to take her hand, hoping to give her some comfort. "I hate it too."

She closed her eyes and blew out a breath when he ran his thumb across the back of her hand, feeling goosebumps pop up on her skin. As much as she hated to do it, she pulled her hand away, then ran it through her hair.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"It's okay." He said back. "You know I'm always here to listen."

"I know, but today is a suppose to be a happy day." She pointed out. "I mean, look at you! You graduated from the academy, Jams."

"And you came home finally." He added.

"Yeah, but yours is a lot more exciting. Being a cop is like a dream come true for you."

"So is having you back." He softly said as he caught her eyes. "I missed you, Nol. It's good to have you home."

"It's good to be home." She said, flashing him a smile.

Jamie was silent for a moment as he debated on if he should ask the question that plagued him since the day she left. He took a big swallow from the bottle, then leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knee. He avoided looking at her as he rolled the bottle between his hands.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why did you leave?" He questioned, raising his eyes to look at her.

"Good job opportunity." She simply answered.

"It's more than that." He argued. He never had any proof that there was another reason she left, just a feeling he always had.

"It's not." She lied. "I had to do my training-"

"And there are ME's here." He interrupted. "You didn't have to go all the way to Florida."

"Dr. Wentworth is one of the best medical examiners out there." She honestly said. "I learned more from him in a year then I ever would from anyone else my whole career."

"Then why didn't you come back after a year?" He asked. "You didn't have to stay away more years."

"I had more to learn." She lamely said. When she saw him open his mouth to say more, she cut him off. "Look, Jamie, the why isn't that important. Bottom line, I left and now I'm back."

"Okay." He mumbled with a nod. He decided not to push her any more now, he had time to get to the bottom of it. He gestured toward the table as he asked her if she wanted anything.

"I'll take another beer."

"I was actually referring to the food." He said as he began to dig into the bag. "I got your favorite."

"Alfredo from Cathalina's?" She asked, suddenly feeling very hungry.

Nodding his head, he said,"I told her it was for you, so she gave you extra."

"Awesome!" She exclaimed. "And a salad?"

"And a salad." He repeated, placing both containers in front of her.

"You do know me too well." She said, smiling at him.

"I do." He nodded. "Time doesn't take away facts, Nol. I still remember everything."

"Me too." She said as the two locked eyes. She bit her bottom lip, feeling a fluttering in her stomach as the memory from earlier hit her- her first kiss. That was definitely something she never wanted to forget.

With those pictures on her mind, she stood up, telling him she had to show him something.

Jamie took a bite of his food, his eyes watched her leave the room, wondering what she needed to show him. Minutes later, she was back and handed him a stack of photos. He began to flip through them, laughing and making comments at each one as the two ate.

"I found these when I was unpacking the bedroom." She explained. "I remember each one."

Like she did earlier, he paused at the picture from her eleventh birthday, and like her- he also remembered what happened not long after they took the picture.

With a smile, he glanced over at her for a moment, his tone soft as he said,"I remember too."

The two looked at each other, lost in a memory, until he dragged his eyes away, reminding himself that he's an engaged man and she was his best friend. He began to flip through a few more pictures until he came across one of him and Joe that she had taken.

"You can have that one." She quietly said, looking over his shoulder and saw what picture he was looking at.

"This was the first ball game he took us too." Jamie said, his voice low with emotion.

With a nod, she sat her food down, a small smile on her face as she remembered that day. "And you almost got sick eating too many hot dogs."

"And you almost punched the big guy in front of us when he made you drop your popcorn." He added with a chuckle.

"I waited for hours for that popcorn and I only got one handful before he threw his large arm up to cheer and knocked it out of my hand."

"Joe had to bribe you with a box of cracker jacks and a new bag of popcorn to keep your violent temper in check." Jamie continued,"Of course that temper reappeared minutes later aimed at me."

"You ate the rest of my cracker jacks and stole my prize out of the box!" She stated. "I had a little left when I went to the bathroom, but when I got back it was gone. You took it!"

"You can't prove it." Jamie joked,"No box, no crime."

"Oh did you learn that at Harvard?" Noelle teased.

"Mm-hm." He nodded, a chuckle escaped his lips.

"I'll find proof one day, Jams." She playfully warned. "You owe me a box and a prize."

"Maybe I'll pay you back one day." He said. "If I was guilty, which I'm not saying I am."

"You are so full of crap, Jamie Reagan." She laughed as she leaned back and playfully kicked him in the stomach.

He laughed along with her and grabbed her leg to stop her. His laughter died down when he caught of glimpse of something on her ankle. He pushed the leg of her pajamas up, holding her ankle in his hand, he ran his thumb over a mark on her skin- a scar from a deep cut that looked like it didn't properly heal.

"Where did that come from?" He questioned as a concern look appeared on his face.

"What- oh that." She mumbled as she pulled her leg back and subconsciously push the pant leg back down, trying to cover the mark up. "It's always been there."

"No it hasn't." He argued, raising his head to look at her. "Where did it come from?"

"I don't remember." She shrugged, hoping he would accept the answer and just drop it. Wrapping her arms around herself, as if to protect herself, she said,"You know, it's getting late."

"It's not that late." He argued.

"It feels late and I'm tired."

"Nol-"

"And you start your first tour tomorrow." She interrupted. "You need to rest."

"Okay." He nodded, taking another sip from the bottle and finishing the beer. He could tell she was shutting down and wasn't going to tell him anything. "But I'll be back again soon."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't." She said, standing up from the couch after he did. "How did you track me down anyways? Did you abuse your powers already?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. When she shot him a look, he laughed, then added,"Or maybe I spoke to your dad and he gave me the address."

She clicked her tongue, before saying,"I'll have to talk to him about speaking to strangers."

Jamie chuckled at her comment, then turned to the door, seeing all the locks for the first time. Lowering his eyebrows in concern again, he turned toward her and asked what all the locks were for.

"They were here when I moved in." She said, telling him half the truth. She didn't explain that she specifically requested the extra locks before she would move in.

He turned back toward the door, dropping his eyes and seeing the bat, causing him to add,"And the bat?"

"Protection." She simply said.

"From what?" Jamie questioned. "Or who?"

She shrugged in response, then gave him a smile, before she laid her hands on his shoulders and raised up to peck his cheek. "Good night, Jams."

"Nol..." He began to say as he lightly grabbed her arm. "If you're in trouble or some kind of danger and you need my help-"

"I'm not." She interrupted. Flashing him a smile, she said,"Don't worry, Jamie, I'm home, everything is okay."

"Okay." He nodded. Pressing his lips against the side of her head, he softly said,"Good night, Noelle."

After walking out the door, he stood still for a moment, hearing her turn all the locks right away. Turning his head to look at the door, he had no doubt that something happened to her in Florida, he just didn't know what yet.

With a shake of the head, he began to walk down the hall with his oldest friend weighing heavily on his mind and he had a feeling those thoughts wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

•••

 _A/N; Hello readers! I've recently started watching this show and am now obsessed. Why can't I find my own Jamie Reagan?! Lol._

 _If you've never read one of my stories before, I usually list my stories as 'slightly AU'. I kinda follow along with the show and try to keep everyone in character, but there will be changes at time to fit my storyline._

 _Thank you to everyone who gave this story a chance._

 _Also, I wanna give a special shoutout to Sage Londyn for getting me hooked on this show and reading the chapter for me._

 _Happy reading!_  
 _xx_


	2. Revenge Is Sweet

**02; Revenge Is Sweet**

For the next couple of days, Noelle spent most of her waking moments unpacking everything and getting the apartment set up exactly how she wanted. It only took her five times rearranging the bedroom, three times for the living room and twice in the bathroom and kitchen before the place began to feel comfortable- before the place started to feel a little like home.

Feeling exhausted, she left the bedroom after making a few small changes, then shuffled down the hall and into the living room. She stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips and glanced around, the room was almost perfect in her opinion. Just one more small adjustment.

Walking over to the table by the door, she picked up a small snow globe of New York City, then began to walk over toward the couch with it. Looking down at the globe, she remembered how Jamie had sent it to her one year for her birthday while she was living in Florida so she wouldn't forget where she came from.

He also knew how much she loved snow. He knew one of her favorite moments was when it was snowy white outside, the world silent and still. She had always loved getting toasty warm by a fire, then bundle up and run outside. She loved that rush of cold blasting her face and feeling snowflakes landing on her cheeks and eyelashes.

She remembered one winter day, she and Jamie had spent all afternoon building a fort in his backyard; which was basically just a big mound of snow with a hole in the side where they could crawl inside to sit. The two sat in it for the rest of the day until they were called in for dinner.

That evening he glanced out his window to check on the fort and saw a light coming from it. After sneaking outside, he found her inside of it with a flashlight. She raised her head, her lower lip quivering with a tear stained face. Her brother and parents were in the middle of another one of their fights so she came to the fort. It had made her feel so safe earlier that day so she wanted to run away from home and live in the fort.

He had sat with her, the two huddled together for warmth, until he had to go inside for bedtime. He had promised to come back to her once everyone went to sleep and he had kept that promise. He even brought them a sleeping bag to share and pillows. The two weren't out there for long until his father's face appeared at the hole.

He had made Jamie go back inside and had driven her one street over to her house. Her parents were surprised to even find out she was gone, they thought she was in her room the whole time and never heard her leave in the middle of the fight. That wasn't the first time she had run away from home, and it wouldn't be the last either, each time she got better and better at it.

She continued to look at the snow globe with a small smile on her lips, then she placed it on the table beside the couch- now she felt like the living room was perfect.

Feeling her stomach growl, she carried her tired body into the kitchen and began to search the refrigerator and cabinets, but not finding much to choose from. When she first moved in, she bought a few quick meals- mostly junk food, but all of that was long gone now.

She let out a groan and rested her hands on her hips, knowing she would have to go to the store no matter how tired she felt.

It almost made her want to call in for take-out, but after Florida she had reservations about giving her address to someone she didn't know. She was too scared of it ending up in the wrong hands- it was mostly one pair of wrong hands she was paranoid about the most.

Glancing down at what she was wearing; a pair of sweatpants and cutoff tank top, she made her way to the bedroom and grabbed a pullover hoodie. She didn't want to chance the tank top riding up in public and exposing the scar on her side.

She went back into the living room to slip on a pair of shoes and got distracted by the television. She almost always had a television on, even when she wasn't watching it and it was muted, she liked having the added glow of light in a room to chase away the shadows.

Seeing the screen change from a picture of the missing girl, Teresa Campos, to a shot of Frank standing at a podium, she leaned down toward the coffee table and grabbed the remote to turn the volume up. She smiled when Frank announced the little girl has been found and was recovering at the hospital with her parents by her side.

He spoke a little on how she was found and where she was kept, then he thanked the media for keeping her face out there and praised the ones on the case who worked tirelessly to find the girl in time. He declined any questions for now, asking everyone to respect Teresa and her family at the moment. There would be another press conference later about the kidnapper once they knew more.

Turning the volume back down, she made her way back into the bedroom to grab her oversized bag. She peered inside, making sure the mace was still in there, then grabbed her keys from beside the bed, before heading for the front door and walking out.

She used the keys to lock all the deadbolts, then instead of slipping the keys into her bag, she kept them in her hand, keeping a key stuck out between two fingers as she left the apartment building.

She walked down the sidewalk, glancing over her shoulders ever so often, then crossed the street to run into a small mom and pop store. She walked up and down a couple of aisles, tossing a few of her favorite junk food into a basket. She quickly turned down another aisle, wanting to hurry up and get back home, then came to a quick stop when she almost ran into someone.

"Noelle, hey!" Linda called out, when she saw who almost crashed into her.

"Hey, Linda." She said, hugging the other woman. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." The blonde said back. "It was just as much my fault. I was reading my list more than I was watching where I was going."

Noelle flashed her a smile and brushed off the apology. At least they both stopped in time and neither one was hurt, which is what she told her.

"That's true." Linda agreed. "But, I think if we were to blame someone, we should blame Danny."

"I have no problems with blaming Danny." Noelle joked. "It won't be the first time. What did he do this time though?"

"I sent him out to grab the roast for Sunday dinner and a few more things from this list." Holding up the piece of paper in her hand, she added,"And all he bought was the roast, nothing else."

"Same old Danny." Noelle laughed. "Good to see some things haven't changed."

"He's never going to change. He's too set in his ways." She joked. "Speaking of change though, I already see a change in Jamie. He's really happy you are back. We all are."

"I am too." Noelle smiled. "I had really missed him; and you, and the rest of the Reagan clan. I even missed this city, I didn't realize how much until I got back."

"New York was not the same without a Reagan and a Kelley roaming the streets and causing trouble."

"We weren't that bad!" Noelle exclaimed. She thought about it for a moment, then added,"Were we?"

"Well, Jamie wasn't." Linda joked. "You on the other hand..."

"Yeah, I guess I was a little troublemaker sometimes." She admitted with a laugh.

The two continued to make small talk, catching each other up on the last few years, until the recent kidnapping came up in their conversation. Noelle mentioned seeing the press conference before leaving her apartment and commented that she bet Danny was happy about finding the young girl safe.

She knew not all cases ended that way, then there were the ones that did get to come home, but could never escape the nightmares. Either way, that poor girl had a long recovery ahead of her.

Linda nodded her head, before saying,"He would be happier if he could find something to tie the kidnapper to the crime."

"Wait, what?" Noelle asked with wide eyes. "He's going to walk?"

"There's a chance he could."

"Hmm." Noelle hummed, her mind began to wander as she tried to remember everything she had heard about the case. There wasn't much that had been said about it, but a few clues had been released. She couldn't help but wonder if there were other similar cold cases out there. If this guy did it once, there is a chance he's done it before and got away with it too.

Linda opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, she heard her cell phone ring. She pulled it out of her bag, letting out a chuckle when she saw it was her husband. Holding up the phone, she said,"Speak of the devil."

Noelle laughed at her comment, then while Linda softly talked to her frustrated husband, an old case finally clicked in her head. She held out her hand, asking Linda to hand her the phone. The blonde shot her a confused look, then told Danny to hold on as she passed the phone over to her.

"Hey, Danny Boy." Noelle said, placing the phone against her ear.

"Hey, Little Bit, look as much as I would love to talk to you, I'm on a time crunch."

"I know, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She said. "Look, I don't know if this would be much help or not, but when I was in Florida there was this huge case that was never solved. I mean, everyone was up in arms and devastated about it. It was all anyone talked about for months. You couldn't turn on the tv without seeing her sweet little face or go into a grocery store without hearing everyone talking about it."

"Running out of time here, Little Bit; and patience." Danny stated, getting her back on track. It was the way she had always been, it took her forever to get to the point. She would ramble for hours until you nudged her in the right direction.

"Right, sorry. My point is, before she was taken, next town over there was a little girl who came forward and said there was a man who tried to tempt her with a toy, but she quickly ran away. She was too scared to say anything until after the other girl was taken.

"Unfortunately she couldn't remember any details of his appearances, but the MO sounds similar, right?" She didn't wait for him to answer before she added,"A buddy of mine at the station always speculated that it could have been his first attempt and he just perfected it until he finally succeeded."

"Buddy at the station? Who is this buddy?"

"It was the detective working the case at the time." She answered. "I can call him, explain what is going on, and tell him to expect your call?"

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you, Little Bit?" Danny grinned. He felt like this was the puzzle he needed to nail the son of a bitch.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Noelle laughed. "Give me about thirty minutes." She added before passing the phone back to Linda.

"I knew having you back would be a good thing." Linda stated as she smiled at the younger girl.

Smiling at her words, she gave the woman a hug and told her she would talk to her later, then went to the front of the store to check out before slipping out of the building. She reached into her bag to pull out her cell phone and dialed the familiar number that belonged to Detective Spencer Hayes.

"Detective Hayes." His gruff voice stated over the phone.

"Hey, it's Noelle."

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"It's getting there." She said, hoping she was right. "But, look, I need a favor."

"Name it."

"You remember that unsolved kidnapping case of yours?" She questioned. "The Kathy MacDonald case?"

"Unfortunately, I do." He scoffed,"I was so close, but the bastard slipped through my fingers."

"I think he has striked again. This time here in New York." She said. "If it is the same guy, there is a chance he could slip away again."

"What do you need?" He questioned, sitting up in his chair. If there was a way to finally catch this guy and get some answers for Kathy's parents, he would do anything.

"A friend of mine, Detective Danny Reagan, is gonna be calling you in a few. He needs anything you have on the case-"

"Done." He cut her off. "Whatever he needs he can have it. I just want to catch this guy."

"If anyone can do it, it'll be Danny."

"I'll try not to take offense to that." Spencer said, but she could tell by the tone in his voice that he was joking.

"I didn't mean it that way and you know it." She laughed as she entered the apartment building.

"You wound me, Elle." He smiled as he leaned back in his chair. He was quiet for a moment, before turning serious,"So, really, how are you doing? Have you talked to anyone about what happened yet?"

"No." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm dealing with it on my own." She added as she unlocked the door.

She was relieved to arrive home right at this moment. If he was going to bring up what happened, she needed to be in a safe place before letting her mind wander back to that time.

Spencer shook his head and blew out a breath, hearing her turn all the locks on the door over the phone. He didn't have to be in front of her to imagine what she looked like now. He could already see her scared wide brown eyes in his mind, and he would bet that her arms were wrapped around herself and she would be biting the inside of her cheek, while those frightened eyes scanning the room and jumping at any little noise.

"You've been dealing with it on your own for ten months now, Elle." He pointed out. "Maybe it's time to talk to someone."

Deep down she knew he was right, she needed to talk about the incident- she needed to deal with it, but that was easier said than done. It was hard to let those moments invade her mind. It made her feel like she was right back in that house again; the house she fought so hard to try to escape- the house she almost died in.

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, she heard her phone beep, letting her know she had another call coming in. She told Spencer to hold on as she looked at the screen and saw it was Jamie beeping in.

A small smile appeared on her face as she blew out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Just seeing his name brought a sense of comfort over her.

Placing the phone back against her ear, she said,"Hey, Spence, I need to go, but don't forget, Danny will be calling soon."

"Got it. Take care, Elle." He said before ending the call.

Switching over to the other call, a genuine smile on her face, she joked,"Officer Reagan! Wow, I can't believe one of New York's finest is calling me."

"Shut it or I'll come arrest you." He joked back.

Laughing at his comment, she asked,"So, how's it going out there?"

"It's going." He answered.

"Any regrets?" She questioned, even though she already knew what his answer would be.

"Hell no." He laughed. "I'm right where I want to be."

"That's good to hear." She said, glad to hear how happy he sounded.

"Listen, I can't talk long, but I just wanted to ask what you were doing tonight?"

"I'm sick, have a prior commitment I can't get out of, and/or washing my hair." She joked.

"Ha ha, dork." He said sarcastically. "Seriously, any plans? Are you unpacked yet?"

"Yep. All unpacked."

"Got all the rooms set up the way you like?" He asked, knowing how picky she was.

She glanced around the living room, biting her lip in thought, before finally answering,"At least for now."

"Have you rearranged the rooms at least three times yet?"

"You don't know me, Jams." She joked.

"I'll take that as a yes." He laughed, knowing he was right. "Which sounds like you're free tonight; which means we're going to dinner."

She smiled, assuming he meant him and her, but wanting to make sure, she asked,"We as in?"

"We as in... you, me and Sydney."

"Oh." She said, hoping she didn't sound as disappointed as she felt. Of course he meant Sydney too, she was his fiancée. "I don't know, Jams; I'm sick, have a prior commitment I can't get out of, and/or washing my hair-"

"Stop." He cut her off with a laugh. "You're not busy. You're going. I'll text you the details later." He added, then quickly ended the call before she could argue.

She groaned when she heard the phone click. The last thing she wanted was to be the third wheel, but maybe if she just kept her head down and stuffed her face the night would be over before she knew it. Things could be worse.

•••

Things were worse... way way worse than she thought. After showing up at the restaurant it was quickly revealed that she wasn't going to be a third wheel- no that actually would have been better than what this really was; a double date.

"Noelle!" Sydney stated when her eyes landed on the uncomfortable girl. She stood up from the table and gave her a small hug, both girls knowing the antics were only for show.

"Hi, Sydney." She mumbled. Snapping her head to the side, she flashed Jamie a murderous look. He shot up from his chair to give her a hug and apologized in her ear. He tried to explain he knew nothing about this, but she pulled back, not wanting to hear what he had to say right now.

"Noelle... this is Robert." Sydney said, gesturing over at the other man sitting at the table; who was clearly her blind date. "He's a dear, old friend of mine. He recently moved back as well, so I figured you two could reconnect with the city together."

"What about next week?" Robert questioned her. "I could fit you in for Thursday next week."

"I... uh, that's an idea." Noelle mumbled, unsure what to say back in response. The whole thing was going way too fast. "But, I'm sure I'll probably be busy with work next week."

"And unpacking." Jamie lied, he could tell the last thing she wanted to do was meet up with Robert again. He wasn't even happy with the double date tonight, but Sydney had ambushed him- just like Noelle, by bringing a friend of hers.

"Right..." Noelle said, turning her head to look at him. "And unpacking."

"Plus, I remember you mentioned earlier today on the phone that you have a prior commitment that you can't get out of." He said with a secret grin, continuing to lie for her.

Noelle smirked, remembering when she used that excuse with him earlier. She nodded her head, in her eyes he was now forgiving for springing this date on her.

"Yes, I did say that." Turning her head to look at Robert, who was sitting beside her, she said,"I'm sorry, I'm pretty busy next week."

"Well, maybe the week after." Sydney suggested.

Noelle opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out. Hoping to help her out, Jamie picked up a menu and quickly changed the subject by saying,"Maybe we should just look over the menus, huh?" He shot Sydney a look, wanting her to stop trying to push them together,"And we'll worry about next week- next week."

"Right, of course." Sydney said to her fiancé. Leaning over to give him a kiss, she then turned to look at Noelle and Robert as she said,"Sorry for being pushy. I just think you two would hit it off."

At least she hoped they would. The truth was, she hoped if she could set Noelle up with someone, then she wouldn't have much time to hang out with Jamie. She knew that was a bitchy move, but things were already tense between them because of his career change, and she feared having his childhood friend showing up would make things worse.

"It's fine." Robert said. "That's just the lawyer in you; always trying to plead your case."

"Exactly!" Sydney laughed.

Noelle fought not to roll her eyes as she opened the menu, trying to look busy studying it. She heard a waiter approach their table, but tuned out everyone giving their order until she realized the waiter was waiting for her to order. She raised her head and opened her mouth to speak, but Jamie beat her to it.

"She'll have the chicken alfredo with a side salad. Extra tomatoes, no onions and dressing on the side." He said out of habit as he took the menu from her hand.

Sydney faced her fiancé, her mouth open in surprise. The way he was acting was more like a boyfriend, than best friend in her opinion. As the waiter walked away, she scoffed then said,"God, Jamie, I think she's old enough to order for herself."

"You're right." He said, shaking his head. He looked over at his friend as he added,"I'm sorry, Nol, I wasn't thinking-"

Noelle brushed the apology aside, then said,"It's okay. You wasn't wrong." Letting out a laugh, she added,"That is actually what I was going to order."

"I know you too well." Jamie said, flashing her a smile.

She chuckled at his comment until she saw the look Sydney was giving her, causing her to glance down at the table and subconsciously move around the silverware in front of her. She remained silent while the other three made small talk, she only looked up again when Robert asked her about her job.

"So, you're a medical examiner, right?"

"Mm-hm." She nodded.

"Does that mean when there's been a murder, you're called on to the scene?" He asked.

"Sometimes." She answered. "But, I'm not the only ME, so we'll rotate on who is called."

"So you've done autopsies before?"

"Yeah. I do autopsies and whatever else needs to be done; like toxicology, wound ballistics, and so on."

"That is so creepy." Sydney said. She shivered then wrapped her arms around herself, running her hands up and down her arms.

"It's not creepy." Jamie argued. "It's just something that has to be done, and I would rather know that it's someone like Nol; someone who actually cares what happened to that person- examining the body, then just some random person going through the motions and doing it just to be doing it."

She gave him a smile to thank him, then said,"I guess it can be creepy for some people, but I've gotten use to it. Plus it's more than just examining a body to me."

"I don't see how it could be more than what it is. You touch dead bodies, what more is there to it?" Robert questioned with a chuckle.

"One of the first things my old boss taught me was you can't view the bodies as people- as who they were. You can't think about their hopes, dreams and fears; you can't get too involved or make it personal. You just have to view 'em for what they are... just a body that needs to be examined."

Shaking her head, she continued,"But I could never do that. I would get involved, I would make it personal, but I felt like that made me better. Because I would not stop until I figured out exactly what happened; if it was a crime I would check for any little clue that would help the cops solve the murder. Sometimes that is all they needed, just that one little puzzle piece.

"And if it was a medical reason; natural causes or something like that- I would still check everything I could. I would give it my all, so I could hopefully answer any question their family had. I wanted to help them make sense of what happened."

Turning her head to look at Robert, missing the proud smile on Jamie's face, she said,"That is why it's more to me."

Robert nodded his head in understanding, then said,"I'm sorry if I offended you-"

"You didn't." She interrupted. "I've had conversations like this for years. I think about the only person who never really questioned me about my choice of career was Jamie." She smiled over at the man in question, who smiled back at her in return.

"I never had to question it." He shrugged. "I know you, Nol. I might not know the exact reason why you choose that career, but I knew you would be good at it. Like I said before, I knew that you would be the type that cared about the person."

"Why did you choose to be a medical examiner?" Robert asked her.

"Personal reasons." She quietly answered, not wanting to get into the reason with someone she barely knew.

"I'm sorry, but I still find it creepy." Sydney spoke up. "Now can we change the subject?"

"Yeah, sorry." Jamie said, leaning back against his chair and tossing an arm around her shoulders. He knew talks of dead bodies wasn't something she enjoyed and he understood that. That kind of stuff wasn't for everyone.

Minutes later, the waiter appeared to place their food on the table and refilling everyone's drinks before walking away. The small group made small talk while they began to eat. Robert asked Noelle more things about herself; her likes, her dislikes and so on, while Jamie poked at his food- suddenly not that hungry anymore.

He didn't like seeing all the attention the other man was giving her. He told himself it was because she was his best friend and he was protective of her. That had to be the reason- it had to be the only reason.

Glancing across the table, Robert noticed the look Jamie was giving him, causing him to nervously clear his throat, before asking,"How was life on the mean street today, Jamie?"

"A guy pushed his boy down a flight of stairs. Kid's paralyzed." He answered. "There's some bad people out there."

"I need a cigarette." Sydney suddenly announced as she stood up from the table and began to walk away. Between all the death talk, watching her jealous fiancé watching his best friend, and now the cop talk; it was all just too much for her.

Jamie was right, there were a lot of bad people out there, and now her fiancé was going to be in the middle of all of that day after day. It wasn't just Noelle she had to worry about losing him to- it was all the bad people out on the streets that he encountered every day.

"Excuse me, Nol... Robert." Jamie said, standing up from the table and going after his fiancée. He should have known better than to mention the bad that was out there, but he honestly wasn't thinking, he was distracted by the couple across from him at the table.

"Then there were two." Robert joked, once he and Noelle was alone.

"Mm-hm." She said with a polite smile on her face. Looking down at her plate, she forced down a few more bites, then took a sip of her water and sat the fork down.

"You okay?" Robert asked.

"Yeah, just full. And starting to get tired." She lied. "Got a big day coming up soon; starting my new job and all."

"Maybe we should call it a night?" He suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, I think we should." She said, removing the napkin from her lap and standing up. Holding out a hand to shake his, she said,"It was nice meeting you, Robert."

"You too." He said. "Maybe we can get together soon... have a coffee or something."

"Yeah, maybe." She said, having no intentions of seeing him again. It was nothing personal, he seemed like a great guy, she just wasn't up to meeting someone new.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out some money to cover her meal, but he waved her off, saying it was his treat. She thanked him and gave him a small wave, before turning and walking out of the restaurant.

Once outside, she paused to glance around to look for Jamie. She didn't want to leave without saying anything, but when she saw him lip locked with Sydney, she felt her face fall before she turned and began to walk away.

She had only taken a few steps when she heard her name being called out, causing her to turn around and seeing Jamie with Sydney in tow, walking over toward her.

"Hey, Nol, where are you going?" He asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

Her eyes flickered over to Sydney for a moment, seeing her holding on to Jamie's arm and leaning against him. From the looks of it they worked everything out- which was good for Jamie. She just wanted him to be happy, even if seeing them together killed her.

Looking back at her friend, she answered,"I'm not feeling too good. I'm going to head home."

"I'll go with you." Jamie suggested. Remembering the brunette on his arm, he quickly added,"I mean we... we'll go with you."

"Or Robert can." Sydney suggested.

"No, it's fine." Noelle argued. "Thanks, but I don't need anyone to walk me home." Flashing them a fake smile, hoping it came off as genuine, she added,"I'll be okay. You two go finish your date."

"Okay." Jamie nodded. "I'll talk to you later."

She nodded back in return, then told them bye as she turned and began to walk down the sidewalk. Walking away from the crowded restaurant, she turned down a quieter street and heard her high heels hitting the pavement. She was about halfway to her apartment, when she thought she heard another set of footsteps behind her, causing her to came to a stop.

With her heart pounding in her chest, she glanced around, feeling like someone was watching her. She slipped her hand into her bag, closing it over the can of mace she kept in there, then began to walk again; faster this time

She glanced over her shoulders ever so often until her apartment building came into view. Suddenly, the fight left her and the flight took over as she began to run as fast as her high heels could take her. She quickly unlocked the door, then slipped into the building before slamming the door shut behind her. She locked the front entrance, then without a look back, took a left and rushed down the hallway to her ground floor apartment door.

After getting all the locks opened, she dashed inside, her bag falling from her hands and causing everything to spill out onto the floor. She ignored it all as she quickly locked the door with her breathing labored.

She yanked on the door, making sure it was secured, then fell against it and tried to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, telling herself to calm down, she was just being paranoid. There was no one out there, _he_ wasn't out there, everything was okay.

Opening her eyes, she blew out a breath and felt her heart rate slow down until her cell phone began to ring, causing her to let out a small scream from the sudden noise. With shaky hands, she kneeled down toward the floor, scooping up the phone.

She let out a breathy laugh when she saw it was Jamie calling. Now she felt ridiculous for overreacting earlier.

"Hey, Jams." She breathed out as she answered the call. Hoping she sounded calmer than she felt.

"Hey, you okay? You sound out of breath?" He questioned.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She lied. "I was in another room and ran to the phone."

"Ah, okay." He said, the explanation making sense to him. "Well, look, I just wanted to call and make sure you got home okay and to apologize for the ambush tonight. I had nothing to do with that whole weird, blind double date, thing."

"It's okay, I kinda figured that out on my own." Noelle said. "But, hey, at least I got free food out of it."

"That is always the way to your heart." Jamie joked.

"Food is my kryptonite." She laughed.

"Speaking of food, we'll see you tomorrow for family dinner, right?" He questioned.

"Jamie, I dunno-"

"Huh? What was that? You're breaking up." He said, pretending he couldn't hear her.

"Jamie, don't do that." She warned.

"I'm sorry, Nol. I just can't hear you, so I'm going to take that as a yes." He grinned.

"You know, it's funny; you trying to pretend you don't hear me, when I hear you just fine."

Ignoring her comment, he continued,"I'll let everyone know you're coming. They will be excited, they will be thrilled, so no backing out now."

"Jamie-"

"Sorry, still can't hear you, but I'll talk to you tomorrow, bye." He said all at once, then hung up before she could respond.

With a chuckle, she lowered the phone with the shake of her head. She couldn't believe he pulled that old trick on her.

Growing up, it was always hard to say no to him, but the few times she tried he would pretend he couldn't hear her. Or if she tried to be stubborn and not move when he wanted her to, he would just toss her over his shoulder. Somehow he would get his way and she would usually end up laughing so hard there was no way she could stay mad at him even if she tried.

Hearing her phone beep with a new text message, she glanced down to see it was from Erin saying how happy she was that she was coming to dinner tomorrow. She couldn't help but let out a laugh, of course Jamie talked to his sister already to tell her she was coming.

He was right, there was no backing out now. She never liked to hurt Jamie or any of the Reagans' feelings, something he knew.

She sent a message back to Erin, telling her she couldn't wait to see them all and catch up. When a thought crossed her mind, she grinned then sent Erin another text to tell her not to worry about dessert, that Jamie offered to bring it. She let out a little evil laugh when she listed a bakery that she knew was at least forty-five minutes from his apartment.

When she was done talking to Erin, she sent Jamie a text to give him the address to the bakery. He sent her back a question mark, wondering what the hell she was talking about. She texted back- ' _don't forget my mini cupcakes_ '.

Within seconds of sending the message, her phone began to ring again. She answered the phone, calling out a friendly greeting with an overly sweet tone.

"Why am I getting mini cupcakes and going an hour out of my way to get them?" He questioned.

"It's not an hour, only forty-five minutes." She corrected him. "And you _are_ doing that because Erin is under the impression that you selflessly volunteered to grab dessert tomorrow; which she is very relieved to hear. You really are a very sweet brother, Jamie."

"Uh-huh, and how did she get that _very_ wrong information?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I have no idea." She said innocently.

"You are the devil, Nol."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jams, I can't hear you." She said, getting him back from earlier.

"Okay, okay, I get it." He laughed. "Paybacks a bitch."

"Yes, it is." Noelle said, agreeing with him.

"I thought you couldn't hear me?" Jamie teased.

"I heard that, but now I can't hear you again. Gotta go!" The last thing she heard was his laughter as she ended the call.

She let out a loud laugh, feeling a lot better from earlier. She was back in New York, she was home and surrounded by some of New York's finest. There was no need for her to feel scared anymore. There was no one watching her, no one following her, she just needed to remind herself that all of that stuff from before was over. She survived and now it was time to live her life.

With that thought in mind, she began to walk toward the bedroom to catch some much needed sleep. Looked like she was going to dinner after all, she just hoped Jamie didn't forget the dessert. She could already taste the cupcakes and as everyone knows- revenge is sweet.

•••

 _A/N; Hello readers! Wow, I am so excited that the first chapter got such great response. Thank you to the ones that gave it a chance and for adding it._

 _Also big thank to_ _January Lily, SweetKittyCat, Brooklyn Knight, BLBLF, jennabug130, jlmayer, samantha572, Guest, Eddie Reagan, werks, Charlottarosa, BrookeErinMelton and mcgeeksgirl_ _for reviewing the first chapter._

 _If you're not already, you can follow me on tumblr, where I'll post any things I make for the story. I also have a video posted on youtube and tumblr._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	3. You're Safe

**03; You're Safe**

Next afternoon, before arriving at the Reagan's, she pulled her car into another driveway, then sat behind the wheel for a few minutes while she worked to get her emotions under control. Once she walked into that house she would need to put on a brave face.

Blowing out a breath, she opened the door and stepped out into the cool, crisp air with a smile plastered on her face. She walked over to the back door, not at all surprised to find it unlocked. No matter how many times she tried to tell her parents to keep the door locked, her father would point out that he's a ex-cop. If someone did try to break in, they were the ones in for a surprise.

"Dad!" Noelle called out as she entered the house.

"Noelle, sweetie, is that you?" She heard her mother, Evie, ask before she entered the kitchen.

"Yeah, Mom, it's me." She said back, hugging the older woman. She pulled back to look at her, resting her hands on her arms,"How are you feeling today, Mom?"

"I feel great!" Evie exclaimed. "What about you, dear? How was school?"

Noelle's eyes flickered over to the doorway, seeing her father standing there. Between her mother's comment and the look on his face, she knew her mother was having a bad day and was lost somewhere in the past.

She plastered a smile on her face and looked back at her mother,"School was fine, Mom."

"How did you do on that test?" She questioned.

"I... aced it?" Noelle guessed, unsure which test she meant.

"I knew you would." Evie said with a proud smile on her face. She tucked some hair behind her daughter's ear that had fallen from her ponytail "I told you, you were worried for nothing. I knew you could do it, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom." She mumbled back.

"Where's Jamie?" Evie asked with a confused look on her face as she looked over at the back door. Looking back at her daughter, she continued,"Is he still coming over to make cookies? Mary called praising them last time, which reminds me, she wanted the recipe for it."

Noelle swallowed hard, feeling tears fill her eyes as she watched her mother muttering to herself, asking where she put the recipe. She opened a few different drawers and began to search through them, jerking everything out and dropping it on the floor.

"Mom?" Noelle said, walking over to her mother. "Mom, it's okay, you can give her the recipe next time." She didn't want to tell her mom that Mary has passed away years ago- while she was in a past memory it was best to go along with it.

"No... no! I have to give it to her now!" Evie stated, getting upset and frustrated that she couldn't find it. "Where is it? Where is it?" She cried out, turning away from her daughter and pulled open another drawer.

"Evie, honey, Evie, why don't you go lay down and I'll find the recipe." Her father, Byron, suggested as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She instantly relaxed back against him and nodded her head in response. He glanced over his shoulder to look at his daughter, telling her he would be right back.

"You let me know when little Jamie gets here and we'll get started on those cookies." Evie called out as her husband led her out of the kitchen.

"I will." Noelle lied,"I'm sure he will be here in a few minutes."

"That little Jamie Reagan is such a sweet boy. A sweet, sweet boy." She cooed as she walked through the doorway and out of the room.

Alone in the kitchen, she began to pick up the things her mother had thrown on the floor. She sniffed, then reached up to wipe a few tears from her cheek. It was always hard seeing her mother like this; slipping into the past, forgetting things and having unpredictable mood swings. She didn't have to ask her mom what memory she was in because she remembered it.

When she and Jamie were younger, they came across her mother's cookbook that was filled with family recipes passed down each generation. They were in the middle of trying to make one of the cookie recipes when her mother caught them covered in flour and watery batter spilled all over the counter and floor. The two had added too many liquids to the mix.

Her mother didn't yell at them- she had never yelled at them, she could always find humor in anything and a sliver of light in any dark day.

That day when her mother walked into the kitchen, she shook her head and a chuckle escaping her lips as she saw the mess the two kids were in. She helped them to clean up everything, then grab more ingredients before teaching them the right way to make the recipe.

They made so many cookies that Jamie took a big plateful home. Later, his mother, Mary, called to thank her mother and ask for the recipe. She wanted to make some the following Sunday for dinner. The next day, Jamie came over for them to make more cookies and she taught them a new recipe. He went home with another plateful of sweets, as well as the recipe.

That day started a new tradition, at least once a month, her mother would show them a new recipe and help them bake, then Jamie would take some home along with a recipe. When he would bring the plate back, his mother would send a recipe of her own for them to try.

Hearing her father come back into the room, Noelle was pulled from her thoughts. She turned to face her father, flashing him a sad smile,"I thought she was having good days lately."

When she spoke to him the other day on the phone, he told her Evie had been herself lately with no memory losses or flashbacks.

"She was." He answered with a frown, sitting down on one of the stools at the counter. Sighing, he added,"But then the bad days came back. They always come back."

"I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't realize she had gotten so bad during one of her episodes."

"I didn't want you to know." He admitted. "I didn't want you to know she was getting worse."

"I should have moved back sooner. I should have been around more-"

"No, no, it's fine." Byron interrupted. "She would be the same rather you were here or not. There's nothing you or I can do."

"Is she still on her medication?"

"Yes and no." When she shot him a confused look, he sighed,"I thought she was taking it. I was giving it to her, but I wasn't checking to make sure she was taking it. The other day, while I was cleaning, I was dusting around one of those little decorative boxes she keeps by the couch and accidentally knocked it over and all of her pills spilled out."

"She was hiding it." Noelle stated, blowing out a breath and rubbing her hands over her face. "How long had she been hiding it?"

"I don't know." He said with a shake of the head. He felt so much guilt knowing she missed one day, he hated to even think how many days she did miss. He should have checked up after her. "I explained to her how important it was that she takes it, but she said it messed with her sleep and makes her feel confused and disoriented."

"Can the doctor give her a different prescription?"

"I hope so." He answered. "She has an appointment next week."

"What day? I can try to get that day off and-"

"No, it's okay." Byron interrupted. "I can take her. This is why I retired, so I can take care of her. I don't want you taking off already from your new job."

"Okay." Noelle mumbled, wishing there was something she could do. She blew out a breath, then spoke her thoughts out loud,"Is there anything I can do?"

"You can join me for a cup." He suggested as he motioned over toward the coffee pot. "And tell me everything that is new with you." He saw her glance at the watch on her wrist, it was so quick anyone else might have missed it, but his years of being a cop helped him to notice things like that.

"Unless you have other plans?"

"No, it's fine." She lied. When he shot her a look, letting her know he knew she was lying to him, she added,"I was supposed to go to the Reagan's for dinner."

"Ah, yes, the famous Reagan Sunday dinners." He smiled.

Back before all the tragedies for both families, there were times the whole Kelley family went and ate with them. Henry or Frank still called at least once a month to invite them, but he was never sure when Evie was having a good day or a bad one, so he always turned down the invitation.

"I don't have to go though, I can stay here-"

"No you should go." He cut her off. "I know they will all be happy to see you. I have everything covered here, you shouldn't put your life on hold for us."

"What about your life, Dad?" She quietly asked, reaching out to lay her hand on top of his.

With a smile, he simply said,"She's my sweetheart, she is my life. She's all I need."

Noelle couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her face at his answer. She remembered growing up how she would watch her parents- the way they looked at each other, and wish for the day someone looked at her the way they looked at each other.

After all these years, the look on her father's face had not changed. He was still as deeply in love with her mother as the day he met her. He always said he fell in love with her at first sight.

He laid his other hand on top of hers, giving it a small pat as he asked,"When do you have to be at the Reagan's?"

"After I have a coffee with my dad." She answered him with a smile.

•••

Noelle sat with her father for close to an hour, then drove a street over to the Reagan house. She didn't mean to stay so late, but she had to admit it was nice catching up with her father, even if it hurt to hear how badly her mother had gotten. She had no doubt the Reagan's would understand why she was running late, she just hoped there was enough food left and that Jamie remembered her cupcakes.

After parking the car, she opened the driver side door and stepped out as the front door opened and she saw Danny walk out looking agitated.

"Hey, did I miss dinner?" Noelle questioned as she went up the walkway toward the porch.

"No, it's still going." Danny answered as he paused long enough to give the side of her head a quick peck in greeting. "Careful though, Erin is on her high horse today."

"Ah." She nodded. "That's why you look so pissed. Another famous Reagan smackdown and here I am late with no popcorn."

"Keep talking, Little Bit, you're next." He playfully warned as he pointed a finger at her.

She chuckled at his comment then asked,"So if dinner is still going on, where are you headed?"

"Your buddy came through. I'm headed for the station to go over all the evidence." With a nod, he added,"Thanks for that."

"You don't have to thank me. I'm just glad Spence came through."

"Spence, huh?" He questioned, shooting her a look.

"No. No, it's not like that." She quickly said, shaking her head. She knew what that look meant. He was curious if there was anything between them.

"I didn't say anything." He said as he raised his hands in surrender.

"No, but your face did." She pointed out.

"This face?" He questioned as he guested toward his face. "This face says nothing."

"Uh-huh, sure." She said, not believing him for a minute.

He laughed at her comment, then threw his hand up in greeting and told her he would see her later. She wished him luck on his case then continue to walk toward the porch.

Coming to a stop in front of the door, she reached out to grab the handle before quickly pulling her hand back. In the past, she would just enter the house without knocking, but that was years ago; back when the Reagan house was like her second home and she was usually running behind Jamie as he entered the house.

Now that time has passed and she was older, she wasn't sure if she should just enter or if she should knock. She was leaning toward knocking, it was more polite. She raised her fist to knock, then jumped back in surprise when the door opened and she saw Danny's youngest son on the other side.

"Noelle! You came!" Sean said as he threw his arms around her middle to give her a hug.

"Yeah, hey, sorry I'm late." She said, hugging him back.

"It's okay. We're just glad you're here." Jack said as he began to flip through the channels on the television.

"You wanna watch tv with us?" Sean asked as his older brother came to a stop on a cartoon.

"Maybe later." She said, ruffling his hair.

"She wants to eat first." Jack told his brother. "Remember what Uncle Jamie says? Never come between her and food."

"He said that, huh?" Noelle asked, folding her arms across her chest. It wasn't a lie, but still, he couldn't get away with saying that. "And where is your Uncle Jamie?"

"Dining room." Sean answered as he plopped down beside his brother on the couch.

"Thanks, boys." She said, ruffling both of their heads as she walked past them to go into the dining room. She smiled at Henry and Frank, giving them a greeting and ignoring Jamie.

With a confused look, he threw up his hands while asking,"Where's my hey?"

Without a word, she walked past him and playfully slapped him in the back of the head, causing his father and grandfather to laugh at their antics.

"Ow!" Jamie exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head. "What did I do?"

"You opened your mouth." She simply stated.

"I got a nice end piece here." Frank spoke up, interrupting the two before they could get started. He knew how their arguments went, even if both were just joking around.

"I'll take it." Noelle stated. "As soon as I find a plate." She scanned around the room, turning from one side to the other as she mumbled,"Plate... plate... where's a plate?"

"Here." Jamie laughed as he held up one. "Erin and Nicky set a place for you earlier."

"Aw, thanks." She said, taking the plate from him. "Where are they by the way? And Linda?" She questioned as she glanced around the bare table. Only the three Reagan men were seated there.

After getting a piece of meat from Frank, she went to sit down across from Jamie until he shot her a look and patted the chair beside him.

She shook her head, planning to sit as far away from him as possible. The last thing she wanted was his fiancée walking in and bitching about where she was sitting. Her friend let out a sigh at her stubbornness then reached out to grab the plate from her hand and placed it on the table beside his.

"Where is Sydney going to sit then?" She questioned.

"She's at her folks. She's not coming." He answered.

"Oh." She mouthed as she circled around the table and sat down beside him. She still would have rather sit away from him, but it was hard saying no to him.

As she began to fill her plate with more food, she asked about the other family members again.

"They're talking to Nicky, I guess." Jamie said. "She got a little upset earlier."

"Okay, who upset Nickles?" Noelle questioned as she playfully glared at each man around the table. "Grandpa?" She added, her eyes landing on Henry. The older man had always been like a grandfather to her, which was why she called him as such, he had always refused for her to call him anything else.

"It was a joke." Henry stated as he threw up a hand. "Nothing different from what I've said about you growing up."

"Well with Nol it probably wasn't really a joke, it was the truth." Jamie said, shooting her a grin to let her know he was kidding.

"Do you wanna get slapped again?" She joked back.

"Go ahead." He shrugged. "Then I'll haul you in for assaulting an officer."

"Hiding behind the badge, I see." She said as she took a bite of the roast. Pointing her fork at him, she joked,"You know, I think I liked you better when you were a lawyer."

"What are you talking about?" He laughed. "You hated it when I was a lawyer."

"I never said I hated you as a lawyer. I said you were annoying as a lawyer." She corrected him.

As the two continued to bicker back and forth, Frank watched them with a smile on his face. This was just one of many playful arguments the two had growing up.

The two bickered like siblings; in a way, Noelle had always been like the fifth Reagan and he knew Jamie had always viewed her as such, but the way she had looked at him growing up was never like a sibling. He knew there would come a day when his son would stop seeing her as a sibling and from the looks on his face from time to time since Noelle moved back, he had a feeling that time was going to come sooner rather than later.

•••

After eating dinner, Jamie began to clear the table, then went into the kitchen to wash dishes since it was his turn, while the rest of the family were in another part of the house laughing and joking around.

He silently stood at the sink, washing dish after dish, only pausing when he heard someone enter the room. With a glance over his shoulder, he saw it was Noelle, causing him to smile at her.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You were a little late-"

"Oh, that." She cut him off as she leaned back against the counter across from the sink. "I stopped by to see Mom and Dad. Mom was having a bad day, so I hung out there for a little bit."

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. The dishes were forgotten for a moment as he turned to face her,"Did she forget who you were?"

"No, it wasn't that kind of bad day." She explained, folding her arms across her chest. "She remembered me, she was just lost in the past.

"You remembered when we use to get together and make cookies, then you'll give your mom the leftovers and the recipe?"

"Yeah." He said with a sad smile on his face. It seemed like another lifetime ago when they use to do that. Now his mother was gone, her mother was lost on most days, and they were far from the sweet, naïve kids they use to be.

"That's what she was going on about. She wanted to find a recipe for your mom." She explained. Giving him a small smile, she added,"She asked for you though. She was wondering when you were coming to make cookies."

"Maybe I should go over there. We both could, maybe it'll help calm her." He suggested.

"Thank you, but you don't have to." She said. "Dad was able to get her to lay down and rest. She was still resting when I left."

He nodded his head at the comment, then promised,"I'll go see her soon though."

"I'm sure she'll love that."

"You can come too and we'll make cookies with her."

"I bet she would _really_ love that." She smiled.

The two were quiet for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts, then as he turned to begin washing dishes again, she spoke up to change the subject,"So, I have a question."

"I have one too." He said back. "What was that slap earlier about? Why are you busting my chops?"

"Why did you tell the kids to never come between me and food?" She asked back, taking a step forward to stand beside him and flash him a look.

"Because it's true." He laughed,"You still jump on my case about the cracker jacks."

"That's because you stole them." She accused him like she always did.

"Allegedly." He corrected her.

"Don't lawyer me, Jams." She joked as she leaned against the counter beside him. "We both know you are guilty. Now, wouldn't you feel so much better if you just admit the truth?"

He chuckled at her comment, then asked,"Is that your question?"

"No, what I really wanted to ask is; where are my cupcakes?"

"Oh, man. I forgot them."

"Seriously, Jamie? You have one job!" She said, holding up a finger to get her point across.

Jamie laughed at her antics as he shut the water off and wiped his hands off on a hand towel. After tossing the towel down, he walked over to the refrigerator to open the door. With his back blocking her view, he reached inside to pull out a small box.

Walking back over to her, he held out the box and saw her mouth open in surprise when she recognized the box from the bakery she had sent him to. As much as she really hoped he would go- it was her favorite bakery after all, there was a part of her that thought he wouldn't since it was so far from his apartment.

"You really did get them?"

"Yeah." He said. He chuckled at the look on her face, then added,"I mean, you asked so why not, right? Think of this as my way of saying, 'welcome home, Nol'."

"Thanks, Jams." She said, flashing him a smile.

"You're welcome, Nol." He said, returning the smile. Holding out the box, he waited until she reached for it, the he pulled it back,"But, you know the rules."

When she shot him a look, he reminded her,"No dessert till after the kitchen is clean." Growing up all the Reagan kids had to take turns cleaning up after Sunday dinners, then the family had dessert together.

"I'm a guest." She pointed out.

"You've never been a guest in this house." He argued. "You're family and you've missed _a lot_ of dishes through the years."

"Fine. I'll wash." Noelle stated. Pointing a finger at him, she added,"But you're drying."

"Deal." Jamie nodded.

Minutes later, the two stood side by side and worked as a team to wash the big pile of dishes. She was in the middle of washing a big pan, when she shook her head and said,"I can't believe you are holding my poor cupcakes hostage. You know what those little bites of heaven does to me."

"Have you always been this overdramatic or did you get worse through the years?" He asked with a laugh.

"Have you always been this sneaky or is this what the academy taught you?" She asked back.

"No. The academy didn't teach me this, I learned the fine art of blackmailing from you."

"You did not!" She exclaimed. Turning her head to look at him, she added,"I never blackmailed you."

"No, not me, but you did blackmail your brother." He said. When he saw the look on her face, he laughed as he reminded her,"You don't remember how you use to blackmail Baylor into playing board games with us?"

"Oh, my God, I did do that, didn't I?" She questioned as she placed her hands over her mouth for a minute, then dropped them as a burst of laughter escaped her lips.

"So, see, I learned all of my bad behavior from you." He joked.

"I wasn't that bad." She argued. "I just..."

"You what?" He questioned, turning his head to look at her when she paused.

"I dunno, I guess I just wanted his attention." She quietly admitted, growing serious. "Growing up, I use to look up to him so much. I just thought he was the coolest big brother ever. I would see you with your siblings... especially Joe, and I wanted that with Baylor."

She turned her head, noticing the way he was watching her, seeing the pity in his eyes for her, causing her to let out a chuckle and shake her head as she breathed out an apology for bringing down the mood.

"You don't have to keep apologizing for that." He said to her, remembering recently she did that when he was at her apartment.

"I just hate that look of pity. I hate when people look at me like I'm... like I'm some small doll; like I'm just gonna break down and cry or-or break at the drop of a hat." She said, her tone turning angry the longer the spoke.

Jamie lowered his eyebrows in confusion at seeing how mad she looked as she scrubbed a cooking pot harder than she needed to.

"Nol?" He said, trying to get through to her, but it was like she didn't hear him as she continued,"But I'm not gonna break. I'm not!"

She thought back to the months after the attack in Florida; the way people looked at her, all the whispers and the apologies. She appreciated it to a point, but it was hard to put it out of her head when she was treated like a fragile doll all the time.

"I'm fine!" She snapped as she slammed her hands down in the sink, causing water to splash all over the front of their clothes, the counter and the floor.

Realizing what she did, a gasp slipped past her lips as she jerked her head to the side and saw the concern look on his face. She wanted to kick her own ass for her freak out a moment ago.

"I'm sorry. I'm just-I'm sorry." She stuttered as she grabbed some paper towels and began to mop up the water.

"Nol, it's fine." Jamie said. He didn't care about the mess, he was more worried about what she said and the story behind it.

He reached out to grab her arm to stop her, but she jerk away from him to continue to clean. "Nol... Noelle, hey, stop!" He called out as he reached out for her again, this time succeeding in stopping her.

He opened his mouth to ask her what caused that reaction, but before he could Frank walked into the room and after seeing the mess asked what happened. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, having a hard time finding her voice. She was relieved when Jamie spoke up to cover for her, telling his dad that she accidentally dropped a heavy pot into the water and some splashed out.

"Don't worry, we'll clean it up." Jamie added.

"No, it's okay. I'll get it." Noelle argued as she pulled away from him. Remembering where the cleaning supplies were, she grabbed a mop and began to clean the water up from the floor. She could feel Jamie watching her the whole time, but she ignored his eyes. She was thankful when Frank began to talk to his son, which temporarily distracted him from watching her.

After cleaning the mess, she put everything away then plastered a smile on her face while she made small talk for a few minutes longer, before slipping out of the kitchen. She made her way through the other rooms, telling the other family members bye and promising to talk to them soon, before she walked out of the house without another word to Jamie. She hated leaving like that, but after her freak out, she was a little embarrassed to face him.

She knew he was confused and had questions, but she didn't want to give the answers. It's not that she didn't want to tell him- growing up she could always tell him anything, but she didn't know if she could talk about it. Anytime Spencer tried to bring it up, she would shoot him down, she didn't want to think about that night again, she could not go back there yet.

Feeling a tightening in her chest, she pulled the car off the road and parked it beside a playground that she and Jamie use to play at when they were younger. It was equal distance between their houses and was almost always empty. Thankfully this time it was empty as well.

She laid her arms across the steering wheel as her breath became heavy. She knew what was coming, it was something that has happened several times since the ordeal in Florida started- she was having a panic attack.

Collapsing against the steering wheel, she cried out in frustration which only made it harder to breathe. She hated when this happened, she hated that somehow he was still in control. It didn't matter that he was locked away and it's been months since she survived what he did to her, she still didn't have her life back. He was right that night when he told her she would never escape him- he would always be in her head.

Trying to push him out of her mind, she thought back to one of the first times she had an attack. She had been talking to Spencer as he tried to get her to talk about what happened in the house, but she had gotten so upset and begged him to stop asking, then she felt like she couldn't breathe.

She remembered he had leaned forward in his chair and took her hands in his as he told her to relax. He explained that the more she tried to fight it, the worst it would be. Instead he told her to take slow, deep breaths, then he reminded her that her attacker didn't call the shots anymore and she made it out of that house- she was a survivor.

She wanted to believe his words, but she couldn't because all she could see was him in her mind. When Spencer told her to think of a happy place, Jamie instantly crossed her mind and holding on to his imagine helped to calm her that day.

Laying her head back against the headrest, she closed her eyes and thought of Jamie again as she took a few deep breaths. She slowly inhaled through her nose, then blew it out just as slowly from her mouth until the tightness in her chest began to fade away.

After her breathing returned to normal, she pushed the car door open and stepped out. She glanced around the small play area. There wasn't much to it; just a couple of swings, a slide and an old wooden merry-go-round.

She walked over to the merry-go-round and sat on the edge of it, then slowly began to move her feet to spin it around in a slow circle. A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered how she and Jamie use to take turns running around to make it spin as fast as their little feet could run before jumping on to it.

She also remembered the time she slipped when trying to jump and fell off of it, causing her to break her arm. She remembered how calm Jamie was during the whole ordeal as she screamed and cried. Looking back on it now, that was one of the first times she could honestly see him being a cop because of how he handled the situation.

As more park memories hit her, she laid back against the wooden platform to look up at the sky, watching the color darken as the sun began to set. She was about to get up to leave when she heard the sound of footsteps on gravel, followed by a familiar voice.

"I thought you were banned from the merry-go-round."

She let out a soft chuckle as she sat up and saw Jamie coming to a stop in front of her with his hands behind his back.

"How did you know I was here?" She questioned.

"I'm a cop now, remember?" He said back. "I used some of those detective skills I learned and..." His voice trailed off when she shot him a look. Blowing out a breath, he admitted,"Okay, fine, I saw your car from the back porch."

"Oh." She breathed out a chuckle. Growing serious she began to say,"Look, Jamie, I-"

"You forgot this." He interrupted her as he removed his hands from behind his back and held out the box of cupcakes.

"Thanks." She mumbled as she stood up and took the box from his hand. She avoided looking at him for a moment, worried about what kind of look he was giving her.

Would it be pity again? Would he think she was crazy?

She didn't think she could handle either one.

"Nol-"

"Don't." She whispered. She finally raised her head to look at him as she pleaded,"Please just... don't ask."

"Okay." He mouthed as he nodded his head.

"I need to get home." Her tone soft as she motioned toward her car and explained that she wanted to get enough rest before her first day at work.

He gave her a nod, but when she went to walk past him he grabbed her arm and brought her to a stop. Taking a step closer to her, he rested his forehead against the side of her head. He didn't know what was going on, but he felt the need to comfort her- like he had done so many times in their past.

The two stood still for a moment- no words needed to be said, then he slipped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. He noticed she hesitated for a minute before an arm went around his neck and she rested her head against his chest, drawing strength from him.

"I don't know what happened-"

"Jamie, I don't-"

"Shh." He interrupted her as he ran a hand up her back, resting it on the back of her head. "I know. I know whatever it is, you won't tell me or maybe you just can't. At least not yet."

Kissing the side of her head, he whispered in her ear,"But whatever it is... you're safe, Nol."

When he repeated the phrase, she blew out a breath- feeling the words and collapsing against him. She didn't even react when the bakery box slipping from her hand and crashed to the ground, all she felt was his strong arms holding her tightly against him.

While in his arms, the stress and fear began to leave her body. This moment was one of the first times she actually felt safe- she didn't feel like she needed to look over her shoulders or jump at any little noise. In this moment she truly felt like she was home.

•••

 _A/N; Hello all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I ship Nol and Jamie so much already. I'm in too deep, lol._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to jlmayer, werks, BlueBlood82, Guest, Eddie Reagan, BLBLF, BrookeErinMelton, SweetKittyCat, mcgeeksgirl, Brooklyn Knight and samantha572 for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	4. I Owe You

**04; I Owe You**

It had been a few days since that day in the park. She hadn't seen Jamie and had only spoke to him a couple of times by text. Thankfully they were both busy at work so that gave her an excuse. It's not that she wanted to avoid him, she was just mortified at her break down that day. She knew he wouldn't judge her for it- he would never do something like that, but she knew it made him more suspicious.

Pushing the park incident from her mind, she walked down the long hallway toward her office with her arms full of folders. She flashed a polite smile as she walked past a co-worker, then stepped into the office. Walking closer to the small desk in the corner, she came to a quick stop, the files crashing to the floor when she saw a small bakery box sitting beside the keyboard.

She self-consciously took a step back, terrified to get any closer to it. This was basically how it started before, she would find little gifts and treats on her desk top when she arrived at work.

Feeling her heart pounding in her chest, she reached out with a shaky hand to pick up the card from on top. Her hands were shaking so hard, she dropped it a couple of times before finally picking it up and opening the envelope. She swallowed hard, her throat going dry, as she slowly pulled out the note.

Her eyes quickly glanced over the words, not really reading them, just looking for the familiar words that were used in the past.

When her eyes landed on a name at the bottom, she blew out a breath, recognized the handwriting. Realizing she wasn't in any danger, she read back over the card; ' _To replace the ones you dropped- Jamie'_.

With a smile, she flipped the lid open and saw a half dozen of mini cupcakes inside; rainbow colored cake with white frosting and colorful sprinkles. Two of the cupcakes had a small flag sticking out with the words 'welcome' and 'home' wrote on it.

She wrinkled her nose for a moment, then picked off a sprinkle and popped it into her mouth, before squatting down to pick up the scattered files. She shook her head at herself for assuming the worst earlier. She couldn't help but wonder if there would ever be a time she wouldn't expect the worst.

Hearing a set of footsteps walk into the room, followed by a small tap at the door, she jerked her head up and saw Danny standing at the door. He shot her a look as he asked what she was doing.

"Redecorating. I thought these files would look better on the floor." Noelle sarcastically said, placing the files on her lap as she tried to put them back in order.

Glancing up to look at him for a moment, she asked,"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood." He answered as he walked further into the room and glanced around, taking in his surrounds. "Figured I would drop in on my favorite ME."

Shooting him a look, she studied him closely, then playfully narrowed her eyes,"What do you want?"

"Nothing!" He exclaimed. "Can't I just come by for an innocent visit?"

"You and innocent are two words that never go together." She stated. Holding the files against her chest, she held out a hand and asked him to help her up.

"Huh, I thought you were already standing up." He joked as he pulled her up from the floor.

"Ha ha." She said sarcastically. "Always with the short jokes."

Laying the files on the desk, she turned to look at him with her arms folded across her chest,"Okay, seriously, Danny, what do you want?"

"Are those cupcakes?" He asked, ignoring her question as he pointed toward the box. When he reached to open it, she slapped his hand, then said,"Those are mine."

"Let me guess... from the kid?" Danny questioned, assuming they came from his brother Jamie. After she nodded her head to confirm that, a knowing smile appeared on his face.

He didn't become one of the top detectives without being able to read people and he had been able to read his younger brother like a children's book lately. Things were slowly changing between them, but he also knew his brother would fight it for as long as he could, he wanted to be loyal to Sydney and he didn't want to risk losing Noelle by giving into the changes.

"Okay, you are really creeping me out here, Danny Boy." She said, sitting down on the stool by the desk. "You drop by out of the blue and now you're just standing there with a weird look on your face. It's disturbing."

"Okay, okay, maybe I do need a favor." He said, getting to the original reason he was there. He wasn't going to say anything about his thoughts on her and Jamie- that was something they needed to figure out on their own.

"Didn't I do you a favor recently?" She questioned.

"Yes, you did me a solid and it was greatly appreciated." He nodded. "Did your buddy at the station tell you what happened?"

"No, I haven't talked to him lately."

"Banse is being extradited to Florida for murder."

"That's good news." Noelle smiled. "I bet Spence is happy to finally tie him to the MacDonald case and it's good for the family to finally get answers and closure."

"Mm-hm." Danny said. He shot her a look, then added,"Are you sure this buddy is not more than just a buddy?"

"He's just a buddy, Danny." She said back. "It's a relationship basically built on guilt and pity. I doubt it'll even last." She assumed he felt bad for turning her away the first time she came to him for help, only to realize she was right in the end.

"Guilt for what?" He asked with a confused look.

"It's doesn't matter." She mumbled, realizing she shouldn't have said anything. Clearing her throat, she added,"So what's the favor?"

"This case I'm working on, I'm trying to get your co-worker, Marshall, to put in a rush on this rape test, but he's giving me the run around." Danny explained.

"We're all backed up, Danny, we're short staffed and run ragged." She motioned toward the files on her desk,"These are just half that I have to get through today. Mostly autopsies, but a few other test too."

"I understand that, Little Bit, but come on, this is a young girl- a college student, who was beat, raped and left on the streets. Not counting the sexual assault committed with other girls." He began to say. "He escalated and he has to be stopped.

"Come on, Little Bit, just help me out."

Blowing out a breath, she stood up then said,"Okay. I'll see what I can."

As he began to thank her, she cut him off,"Don't thank me yet. I'll talk to Marshall about it, tell him how important it is and see if he'll move it up, but I don't have a lot of weight around here, so I'm not sure if he'll actually listen or not."

"You're an attractive girl and he's a man, just flash him..." He began to say, until she shot him a look. "Those pearly whites." He flashed her a smile, causing her to chuckle and shake her head at him.

"Like I said, I'll do what I can."

"Thanks, Little Bit." He said while walking backwards toward the door.

"Yeah, yeah, but you owe me!" She called out as he turned around.

"Don't worry, I'll pay you back!" He stated as he threw up a hand to wave bye to her before walking out the door.

Now alone in the office, she turned toward the desk and grabbed her purse to pull out her cell phone. Before she spoke to her co-worker, there was someone else she needed to talk to first.

"Detective Hayes." She heard after one ring.

"Hey, Spence." She said. "I heard the latest on Banse. I bet you're pretty excited."

"I am and it's all thanks to you." He smiled. "You were right, that Detective Reagan knows what he's doing. I owe you."

"Actually that's why I'm calling." She said with a soft sigh.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"You don't have to keep owing me, Spencer." Noelle began to say. "You don't have to pity me or feel guilty. I'm not mad or-or blame you for anything. You don't have to keep checking on me or pretend to care, okay? Let's just move on-"

"Whoa, whoa, wait." He cut her off. "Look, I'll admit, I feel like the world's biggest ass for not listening to you from the start... you tried to tell me what was going on and I blew you off. So yeah, I feel guilty as hell about that, but that's not why I stayed in your life.

"I care about you, Elle. I've never pretended anything with you and I've never pitied you. You went through hell and came out a fighter, I admire that about you."

"I didn't feel like a fighter." She softly said, her mind wandering back to those days. "I thought he was going to kill me and what's worse is I thought no one was even looking for me."

"I was, Elle." Spencer said, his voice barely above a whisper. He paused for a moment, remembering the fear and frustration while he tried to locate where she was being kept. "I never gave up and you didn't either. You kept fighting. What made you keep going?"

She didn't say anything as Jamie crossed her mind. In those moments when she thought she couldn't keep going, she had thought of him.

She thought about their past and the things they were able to overcome together. She thought about never seeing him again and of how devastated he would be when the story came out. He had just lost his brother, she didn't want him to lose anyone else.

Then she thought of her parents. They had been through enough; between her mother's health problems and Baylor's drug problems, she knew they wouldn't be able to deal with losing her.

Knowing he was waiting for an answer, she cleared her throat, then said,"I just thought about the ones I care about. I didn't want to put them through that pain. I wasn't going to let _him_ hurt them by killing me. I told myself that no one is burying me or standing around my tombstone anytime soon."

"That's my girl." He smiled. "You hang on to that fire, Elle, and you're going to be okay."

"Thanks, Spence."

"You're welcome, and hey, I don't care what you say, I still owe you." He said. "If I ever make it up your way, I'm buying you a beer and probably dinner too. I know how you can eat."

She laughed at his comment, then said,"You're on, but we both know you'll never leave Florida. You love the beaches too much."

"Never say never, Elle." He said. "Plus there are beaches up there, you know."

"That there is." She laughed. "Bye, Spence."

"Take care, Elle." He said before ending the call.

She smiled as she slipped her phone back into her bag, then stood up. Now with that talk out of the way, she needed to go use some of her charm with her co-worker. She just hoped she could locate the charm before she made it to his office.

•••

That afternoon Jamie was sitting outside at a table with his training officer, Anthony Renzulli, as the two ate lunch. He took a bite of his sandwich, then laid it down and glanced over at his cell phone as it sat beside his meal on the table.

Noelle should have gotten his cupcake delivery by now and he was hoping for a text from her. He wasn't able to talk to her much since that day in the park and he was craving some kind of communication from her, but at the moment his phone remained silent.

Needing to get her out of his head, he glanced over at his training officer as he asked,"Shouldn't we be doing something?"

"We are." Renzulli said back, taking a bite from his sandwich.

"Besides contributing to your high cholesterol." Jamie joked, then suggested,"Why don't we recanvass those electronic stores? You know, maybe that stickup guy hits again."

He needed to do something, he couldn't spend another minute staring at his phone waiting for it to ring. He felt like a teenager all over again waiting to talk to his crush, but that was wrong. The only girl he should be desperate to talk to was his fiancée.

"Let me tell you something." Renzulli began to say, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Lots of cops burn themselves out chasing down every half-assed lead like it's The French Connection, but never learning the secret to being a good cop."

"Is that extra mayo?" He joked as he motioned toward his training officer's sandwich.

"Hey, I make the jokes around here, rookie." Renzulli said back, causing Jamie to chuckle at his comment.

"I'm talking about the art of doing nothing." He continued.

Jamie couldn't help joking again,"It's amazing you don't have your own command by now."

"I'm serious." Renzulli said. "NYPD will spend millions of dollars of hours and manpower setting up stings and takedowns, but if they just taught more cops the art of observing..."

"What, nannies, skateboarders?" Jamie asked sarcastically as he glanced around, not seeing anything troubling around them. It was just a regular day, surrounded by every day regular people.

"Well, for instance, that yupster over there in the mandals, eleven o'clock, what do you think he's doing?" Renzulli questioned as he pointed over toward a man with a paper in his face with his wife sitting beside him distracted by her cell phone.

"He's reading the newspaper." Jamie answered, not seeing what his training officer was referring to.

"No. That's what he wants his wife to think he's doing. What he's really doing is checking out those blondes doing tai chi."

Jamie looked over in the blondes' direction, then looked back at the man, seeing what Renzulli meant now. Letting out a chuckle he said,"That's great, we can arrest him for having impure thoughts."

"Okay, wiseass." Renzulli said, motioning toward someone behind him. "You see that?"

"What?" He questioned as he turned to look behind him.

"The guy in the suit... look at him. See him touching his hip like he's looking for something?"

"What, checking to see if his wallet's still there?" Jamie guessed as he turned back to look at his training officer.

"You wear your wallet on your hip? Huh?" Renzulli questioned as he shot him a look. "That guy's got a gun, Reagan."

"He does?" Jamie asked as he sat up at attention, wondering how he missed that. Actually he knew how it missed it, he was too busy checking his phone and being distracted.

"Well, let's go toss him." He added as he stood up from the table.

"No."

"Why not? What, a gun collar?" He questioned, surprised by how calm his training officer was. Why was he not jumping up and racing over there.

"Are you crazy? Why not?"

"'Cause he's a cop, Reagan." Renzulli explained. "Mike Respoli. Works out of the 2-5. He plays on my softball team- center field."

When Jamie sat back down, feeling a bit embarrassed, he chuckle as he added,"Okay, so I knew... but you didn't."

Jamie smiled, then let out a short laugh as he said,"Alright."

Catching on to the game, he glanced around for a moment, surprised to see Noelle walking through. She was too far away to see him yet and he had time to catch up to her, giving him a chance to get back at his training officer.

"Okay, let me try." He began to say, then pointed over toward his friend. "See that girl..."

"The petite brunette that would never notice you." Renzulli joked. "Yeah, I see her."

"Wha-no! I could get her- but I don't..." Realizing how that sounded, he quickly got back to the subject. "Anyway that's not- the point is, just looking at her, I bet she recently moved back to the city."

"Yeah, I can see that." Renzulli stated. He observed her for a moment, then added,"She's also scared of something."

"Wait, what? Why-why would you say that?" Jamie asked surprised at his words. He knew something was bothering Noelle, but how could Renzulli see it better than he could.

"Look at her eyes... the way they are constantly jumping around, and the way she keeps looking over her shoulders." He explained. Seeing Noelle slipping her hand into her purse, but not pulling it out, he continued,"Plus I'll be willing to bet that she has pepper spray in her bag just in case."

"Huh." Jamie mumbled as he thought about what he said, which made him want to know even more what happened to her.

"Hold on." He added as he stood up from the table, his eyes on his friend.

"Have fun getting shot down, rookie." Renzulli laughed, before he took a bite of his sandwich. He leaned back in his chair, ready to be entertained.

"Nol, hey!" Jamie called out as he jogged over to her.

"Hey! How's it going?" Noelle questioned, coming to a stop and waiting for him to catch up. "Thanks for the cupcakes."

"Oh, you got 'em?" He asked as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Yeah." She said, flashing him a smile. "But rainbows, really, Jams? Did you suddenly forget my hatred of rainbows?"

"Nope." He smirked. "If I could, I would have sent the Lollipop Guild too." He joked, knowing how much she hated them in the Wizard of Oz.

Actually she hated the whole movie. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he knew it was because it scared her when they were kids. Now she hated anything that reminded her of the movie- she would even cringe if she heard the song 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'.

"You are such a jerk sometimes." She laughed as she playfully punched his shoulder.

Jamie laughed out loud and rubbed the area she punched, then asked,"So what are you doing out? Lunch?"

"Yeah." She answered as she held up the small bag in her hand that held the hamburger and onion rings she just bought.

"You wanna join us?" He offered as he gestured over toward the table, where his training officer was staring at the couple in surprise. "That's my training officer, Anthony Renzulli."

"Ah, so that's why he's been staring at us."

"Yeah." Jamie laughed. "I didn't tell him I knew you, so he thinks you're going to turn me down."

"Oh!" Noelle exclaimed with a laugh. "So, should I make it really good and slap you or something?"

"Sure." He shrugged, then added,"If you wanna be arrested for assaulting an officer."

"Always hiding behind the badge, Jams." She joked.

He laughed at her comment, then nodded toward the table as he told her to follow him. The two walked over to Renzulli, who had finished his lunch and was leaned back against the chair watching them.

"I take it you two know each other." Renzulli stated. "You pulled a fast one on me, rookie."

Jamie laughed, then said,"Yeah, sorry, Sarge, this is my oldest friend Noelle."

"The ME, right?" Renzulli questioned as he held out his hand for her to shake. "It's nice putting a face to the name."

At his comment, she turned her head to look at Jamie with raised eyebrows. He shrugged, then said,"I might have mentioned you once or twice."

"Mm-hm." She hummed with a smile. Turning back to look at Renzulli, she said,"It's nice to meet you."

"You too." The older cop said. Standing up from the table, he added,"For the record, I still think she's out of your league."

"Thanks, Sarge." He said sarcastically as Noelle laughed at the comment.

Renzulli nodded his head, then said,"See you at the car, kid."

"Okay." Jamie nodded, until he looked back at the table and realized he left all the trash behind, expecting him to clean up.

"Great." He mumbled as he began to gather up everything.

"So how are you liking him?" Noelle questioned, referring to his training officer, as she picked up an empty bag of chips and handed it to him.

"He's okay." Jamie shrugged. "He said he was Joe's training officer too."

"Really? That's pretty cool." She said, flashing him a small smile.

"Yeah." He walked over toward a trash can to throw everything away, then walked back over to her. "He doesn't seem to like Danny too much though. He keeps telling me to do the opposite of what Danny would do."

"That's actually not bad advice." She laughed. "I mean, I love your brother, but Danny has his own set of rules when it comes to policing. You just have to be your own kind of cop, Jamie. You don't have to be like your brothers, your dad, or even your grandpa... Just be you, be Jamie."

Flashing him a smile, she added,"Plus, if it helps, I think Jamie is pretty awesome."

He chuckled at her comment, then said,"Thanks, Nol. I'll keep that in mind."

Minutes later, as the two began to walk side by side toward the police car parked by the street, she began to say,"Speaking of your brother... he came by my work earlier."

"What for?" Jamie asked confused.

"He wanted me to talk to one of my co-workers to put a rush on a rape kit from his case." Noelle explained. "Which resulted in pissing my co-worker off and him passing the test off on me."

"I'm sorry, Nol, he shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay." She shrugged.

"I'll talk to him."

"You don't have to." She argued. "Plus, it's not like Danny would listen anyways; like I said, he has his own rules."

"But, still, he shouldn't do that and get you in trouble with your job." He pointed out.

"I didn't really get in trouble. My co-worker just doesn't know how to play well with others." She laughed.

"Word around the office, he's like that with everyone. He's close to retirement age, so if he can push his work off on someone else, he takes advantage of it." She shrugged,"It's seriously no big deal though, I already started the test before I left for lunch and now I'm just waiting for results."

He nodded his head, impressed by her, then asked,"Did you ever think this would be us? Me a cop and you a ME?"

"Honestly? Kinda." She answered. "I knew being a cop was in your blood."

"Guess it just took me a little longer to see that."

"Well, you were always a little slow, Jams." She joked, causing him to laugh.

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could his radio went off. If she remembered the codes right, it sounded like a domestic call.

He heard Renzulli call out to him from the car, then turned toward her to tell her he will talk to her later. He leaned forward to kiss her cheek like he has done many times before, but this time she turned her head at the wrong moment and his lips pressed against hers taking them both by surprise.

He forced himself to pull away, then began to quickly apologize. "Uh, I'm-I'm sorry, Nol-"

"It's okay." She cut him off, trying to shrug it off. She knew it was an accident and that it meant nothing to him. She blew out a breath, trying to control the fluttering in her stomach as she added,"It was my fault. I shouldn't have turned my head when I did."

"No, it's fine... it's- I mean, I..." His voice trailed off as his eyes landed on her lips after she nervously licked them. That shouldn't have happened, she's his best friend and he's engaged, but he couldn't get that quick peck out of his mind.

"Jamie?" She softly said while he silently stared at her.

"Hmm?" He questioned as his eyes jumped up to meet hers.

A smile appeared on her face,"You got a call. You need to go."

"Right, yeah, right... I'll-I'll talk to you later." He stuttered out as he began to walk backwards. He jumped and quickly turned around when Renzulli beeped the horn at him telling him to hurry up.

He sneaked a quick peek at her, then slide into the passenger seat and felt Renzulli's eyes on him. He prayed he wouldn't make a comment about it, but he wasn't so lucky.

"Slippery slope, rookie." Renzulli warned him.

"I didn't mean to kiss her." Jamie explained. "She turned and I didn't notice and I... it just happened, but it was an accident."

"Hopefully you're right." Renzulli said as he drove down the road. He knew it was none of his business; people cheated every day, but he had a good feeling about Jamie and knew he wasn't that type of person. But he also felt like he wasn't being completely honest with himself.

Now was not the time to discuss that though, right now they had a job to do. Meaning everything else needed to be pushed aside, they needed clear minds to get through their tour. It was the way he did every call and it had not let him down so far.

•••

Next day, she walked into her office and saw another bakery box sitting on her desk. She paused for a moment, that familiar sense of dread washed over her before she took a cautious step forward.

She slowly reached out a hand and flipped open the lid. This time there was one big chocolate cupcake inside with chocolate icing, and on top written in white icing were the words- 'I'm sorry'.

There was no note this time, but she assumed it was from Jamie again, apologizing for the accidental kiss.

As if on cue, her cell phone beeped, letting her know she had a new text message. She read the simple apology from Jamie, then wrote him back to tell him he was forgiven. She turned back toward the cupcake, pinching off a piece and popped it into her mouth before getting to work.

Her work day was busy, filled with a few autopsies and a lot of paperwork, she didn't even get a lunch this time. Instead she ate half of the cupcake in between cases.

She didn't hear from Jamie anymore, she assumed that meant he was busy, which was fine because she was busy as well. She forced herself to stay busy so she wouldn't think about what happened the day before. It was quick, but she could swear she could still feel his lips against hers. She knew she shouldn't be thinking of that though.

She did talk to Danny briefly, who wanted her help with a DNA test. He knew she would be quick about it and he needed the results as soon as possible. From the sound of it, his rape case wasn't going well. She had heard on the news that they had a suspect, but he has diplomatic immunity, which was making it impossible to be questioned.

Or it was until Danny did what Danny does best and found a loophole and was finally able to question him. He kept the room hot, forcing the suspect to sweat everywhere, then sent that to her to test.

When the work day was over, she gathered her things then headed home. She changed into a pair of lounge pants and t-shirt, then went into the kitchen. She opened the freezer door and picked up a tv dinner, wrinkling her nose at the look of it, then tossed it back inside. Walking over to the cabinet above the microwave, she grabbed a bag of popcorn instead for dinner.

A few minutes later, she walked into the living room with a bowl full of popcorn. She sat down on the couch, flipping through the television until she came across a rerun of a comedy she liked then she sat the remote down.

Shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth, she heard a knock at the door, causing her to jump up from the couch and the bowl to fall to the floor with popcorn scattering at her feet. With her heart beating in her chest, she glanced around the living room, silently cursing herself when she realized she had left the baseball bat in the bedroom.

Her eyes jumped around the room, looking for something else to use for a weapon, until she heard Jamie call out her name and ask if she was home.

Blowing out a breath, willing her heart to slow down, she called out she would be right there.

Squatting down, she tried to scoop up as much popcorn as she could and tossed it back into the bowl. Some was still in the floor, but she figured she would get the rest later since Jamie was still waiting at the door.

She jogged over toward the door and swung it open while calling out a friendly greeting to him.

"Hey." Jamie said back. Holding up a covered bowl, he said,"I brought you leftovers from dad's. Grandpa made pot roast."

"I love your grandpa's pot roast." Noelle gasped as she took the bowl from his hand. "Thanks, but what brought this on?"

"I was over there hanging out with Grandpa and he had extra, so I thought I would bring you some 'cause I figured you haven't had any actual food... only just junk."

"You are not wrong." She laughed as she ushered him inside.

He saw her shut the door and quickly turn all the locks. Deciding not to comment on it at the moment, he held up a 6 pack of beer, then added,"I also brought these to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" She asked confused.

"I got my first gun collar today."

"That's great, Jams!" She exclaimed as she rushed forward to throw an arm around his neck and hug him. She went to kiss his cheek until he turned his head, causing her to quickly pull back to keep them from accidentally kissing again like the day before.

She let out an uncomfortable chuckle and settled for patting him on the back instead, then turned to walk over to the couch.

"I really am proud of you." She added as she glanced at him from over her shoulder before sitting down on the couch.

"Thanks." He said back happily as he plopped down beside her and opened a bottle of beer. He handed her one, then opened another one for himself. "Although, it's not like it's my first arrest. I got that with you, remember?"

She breathed out a chuckle and pulled the beer bottle from her lips as she gave him a nod. She swallowed the beer, then said,"Yeah, I remember that. We were, what, six? And you were chasing me around the yard because I was the 'bad guy'."

"You had robbed a store." He remained her as he tipped his bottle toward her.

"Right, I did." She laughed. "I was running around with monopoly money in my hands. Then you tackled me and handcuffed me."

"That's right, I did. And if you're ever bad, I'll handcuff you again." He joked, then felt his mouth drop open when he realized how that sounded. "No, wait, I-I mean-"

"It's okay, I knew what you meant." She cut him off. She took a sip of the beer, then figured she would take the conversation to something safe.

"So where's your fiancée tonight?"

"She had to work late."

"Oh." She mouthed. "So you're making the rounds tonight instead of sitting at home... first your grandpa and now me?"

"Yeah. That's okay, right?"

"Of course." She said. Turning her head to look at him, she added,"You're always welcomed here."

"I just didn't know if things would be awkward or weird after yesterday..." His voice trailing off.

She let out a small chuckle, then said,"That... It's okay. I knew it meant nothing. You don't have to keep apologizing. The cupcake and the text were enough."

"Okay, great... wait, what cupcake?" He asked confused.

"You sent me a cupcake, right? It said 'I'm sorry' on top." She questioned as she sat up, her heart beginning to race again. If he didn't send it, who did? It couldn't be _him_... this couldn't be happening again.

"No." Jamie said, concern about the look on her face. She looked terrified, a look he had seen on her a lot recently, but he still wasn't use to it. It was completely different from the girl he knew growing up.

"I sent you the rainbow ones yesterday, but I didn't send any today. I'm sorry, Nol."

He was even more surprised when she jumped to her feet and began to pace back and forth. Her voice was shaky and stuttering,"If-If you didn't... then who-who-"

"It's probably a co-worker." He suggested as he stood up. He stepped in front of her, causing her to come to a stop, then he took her shaky hands in his. "You said one of your co-workers were pissed at your yesterday, right? When you asked him to run a test? So maybe afterwards he felt bad and sent you a cupcake."

"Yeah, may-maybe." She mumbled, hoping like hell that he was right, because the alternative was too frightening to think about.

He watched her closely as he rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, but seeing that his actions or words were not calming her he pulled on her hand, bringing her toward him as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to him.

"It's going to be okay." He softly said in her ear while he ran a hand up and down her back trying to comfort her.

She stayed in his arms for a few minutes, feeling her heart slow down as she thought about what he said. He was right- he had to be right, it was her co-worker. That was the only thing that made sense, because it couldn't have been him. It could not be Jimmie, he was still in the mental hospital. Please God, don't let it be Jimmie.

Feeling a little more calm, she pulled back and flashed him, what she hoped was a genuine smile, before thanking him. He laid his hands on her arms and ran them up and down to rub them as he asked,"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, just been a stressful few days, I guess." She lied. "You know, just dealing with dead bodies and learning their stories... sometimes it's draining and then you start getting paranoid about things."

"That's all?" He asked.

"Mm-hm. That's all." She nodded.

Needing a distraction, she grabbed the bowl then kneeled down to pick up the remaining pieces of popcorn and dropped them into the bowl. She stood back up and told him she would be back, she was going to take the bowl into the kitchen and grab utensils so they could eat.

He nodded his head and sat back down on the couch as she walked out of the room. While she was gone, he glanced around the room for a moment- she had the small room decorated in a way that you felt completely comfortable and at home. She had always been good at that, even her bedroom as a kid was the same way.

Most of the decorations and figurines were new, probably things she picked up while she lived in Florida, but the others he recognized right away. He looked over at the side table beside him and saw the snow globe he gave her years ago. He smiled, happy to see she still had it.

He picked it up for a moment and shook it up, then sat it back down as her purse on the coffee table in front of him caught his attention. Remembering what his training officer said earlier that day, he leaned forward to peek inside. He knew he shouldn't be nosy, but he had to know if she was carrying any pepper spray.

He moved a few things aside, then paused when he saw the can inside. What had her so scared that she had to walk around with pepper spray in her purse?

Hearing her come back into the room, he quickly leaned back against the couch and flashed her a smile as she handed him a fork before sitting down beside him. As the two sat side by side, eating and making small talk, he couldn't stop wondering about some of her actions lately; between her reaction earlier to the cupcake, the pepper spray, the extra locks and baseball bat- it was clear to see that something bad happened to her. Something worse than he could even imagine and that thought made his heart stop.

He didn't want to push her- he had told her he wouldn't, but someone had hurt his Nol and he needed to hear the whole story. It was the only way he could protect her. He told her before that everything was okay and that she was safe, and he intended to keep that promise no matter what.

•••

 _A/N; Hello readers! As you can see I skipped episode two and used things from episode three. I'll be doing that as the season goes on. I'll skip some, change timeline and so on. If that's not your thing, I apologize, but it's the way I do my stories._

 _Now the major thing from this chapter- that quick kiss, am I right? Lol. It might be an accident, but it still counts. And, also, a name has been revealed!_

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or following the story. Also big thanks to jlmayer, BlueBlood82, jennabug130, RyeBreadQueen, BLBLF, BrookeErinMelton, Romantic Journalist, DamonsSavior, mcgeeksgirl and lilnightmare17 for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	5. Everything's Okay

**05; Everything's Okay**

No matter how long she worked as a ME, the one thing she didn't think she could ever get use to were the late night calls. Before the Jimmie incident, it was the sleep she missed the most, but now she didn't sleep often. Any little noise woke her up, which is why she was wide awake when her phone rang earlier about a recent murder.

She threw a dark-colored knitted sweater on over the white tank top she had slept in and changed into a pair of pants after slipping off her pajama bottoms. She grabbed a coat by the door, slipped on a pair of flats and wrapped a scarf around her neck, then was out the apartment door with her bag.

When she stepped out into the dark night, she paused for a minute to glance around, taking in her surrounds. This was why she hated late night calls now, she hated going out into the night. Once the sun set, there were too many shadows, too many places to hide, and with her out in the open she felt exposed.

She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to ward off the chill. She told herself repeatedly that everything was okay, he wasn't out here waiting for her. Once she felt a little more sure about everything, she finally stepped away from the apartment building and began to walk to her car.

Minutes later, she arrived at the scene, seeing a few officers standing at the entrance to a park. She parked her dark colored SUV beside one of the many cop cars parked on the side, their lights flashing. After exiting the car, she made her way over toward the small group near the crime scene tape and showed them her credentials, then slipped under the yellow tape.

She walked down a small pathway, getting closer to a small crowd of cops and the detectives on the case, which happened to be Danny and his partner. She came to a stop by a black bench, seeing a middle-aged man's body laying on the ground behind it.

"Hey, Little Bit." Danny said, turning to see her standing near the body.

"Hey, Danny Boy." Noelle said back.

"You know, I dunno if I can get use to seeing you on cases. When I look at you, I still see that little girl wanting to play doctor."

"Ha, you two use to play doctor?" His partner, Jackie, asked with a laugh.

"No, her and my kid brother." Danny answered. He quickly introduced the two, explaining to his partner that Noelle was an old family friend and was very close to his younger brother.

"Not bad." Jackie said with a nod.

"No, it wasn't like that." Noelle said with a laugh, knowing she was getting the wrong idea from his comment before. "We really played doctor."

"I dunno, he was shirtless a lot." Danny said back.

"I had to check for wounds!" Noelle exclaimed.

"You were checking something alright." Danny teased her.

Noelle shook her head and rolled her eyes at the comment, then with a slight chuckle, said,"Don't you think we should get to the body?"

"Yeah, yeah, what can you tell us?"

Getting to work, she opened her bag and pulled out a small flashlight and set of gloves. She glanced down at the body as she slipped the gloves on and turned the light on.

"Right off the bat I see a knife wound in the abdomen area. Looks like a pretty deep cut from here and I would guess was the fatal blow." Pointing toward the man's hands and wrist with the light, she added,"Also some superficial cuts there, probably from trying to stop the attacker."

She squatted down beside the body, getting a closer look at the cut on his stomach, then said,"And from the location of the wound, if I had to guess, I would say your killer is short."

"How short?" Jackie questioned.

"Around my height maybe." She guessed.

"So we're looking for a midget?" Danny joked.

Noelle snapped her head up to look at him, shooting him a playful glare,"Watch it, Reagan. Don't make me shoot you with your own gun."

Jackie let out a loud laugh, before saying,"I like her."

"That's great. You can carry her in your pocket later." He sarcastically said to his partner. When Noelle shot him another look, he flashed her his trademark smirk.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Jackie questioned, getting them back to the reason they were there.

Noelle looked over the body again, mostly at the deep cut, then said,"I could be wrong, but I think your killer could be female." She looked up at the detectives, then looked back down at the body as she pointed at the cut with the flashlight,"The cut is deep, but could be a lot deeper if done by someone with more upper body strength, which could point to female."

Standing up, she pulled the gloves off and continued,"But this is just a guess for now, I'll be able to tell more once I get the body at the lab and start examining more."

"When will that be?" Danny asked.

"As soon as Will gets here and we get the body wrapped and loaded." She answered, referring to one of her co-workers.

"I'm going to go question the witness that found the body." Jackie offered. "You want to talk to the first officers on the scene?" She asked her partner.

Danny nodded his head, saying he would. She told Noelle it was nice to meet her, then began to walk over to the side to talk to the homeless woman who discovered the dead man.

As Noelle slipped out her cell phone to text her co-worker, Danny spoke up,"Hey, you coming over to the house tomorrow for the party? It's Jack's birthday."

"Oh, wow, it is his birthday tomorrow. I can't believe I forgot." She said, feeling bad that she didn't remember sooner. "Is it at your dad's house?"

"Yeah. It's just a small family get together. We're doing pizza and cake." He explained. A smirk appeared on his face as he said,"I know one kid that would _love_ for you to show." He was referring to his kid brother, but he couldn't help but wonder if she would pick up on that or if she'll play dumb.

Apparently she was going to do the latter.

"Tell Jack I wouldn't miss it."

"We'll see you then." He said, patting the top of her head when he walked past her to go speak to the officers on the scene.

She watched him as he walked away, for a brief moment she wondered to herself if he meant his son or Jamie would be the one excited for her showing up.

She couldn't deny that she hoped he meant the latter, but she couldn't get caught up on that. He was engaged and her friend, plus she was in the middle of her job. She needed to give her all to the man who was murdered, she needed to learn his story.

•••

Next day, after a few hours of sleep, she woke up to a text from Linda, inviting her to go to the zoo with her and the kids. She told her that both boys really wanted her to come. She smiled at the text, then wrote her back, telling her she needed to visit her parents, but she would meet up with them at the Central Park zoo later.

After the night she had, she needed something fun and light. She spent hours examining the body, then called Danny to tell him what she had found. An hour after that he was arresting the killer, a female, just like she told him.

With the text sent, she grabbed a blue and white striped top and a pair of blue jeans, then showered. Minutes later, she was leaving her apartment and heading for her parent's house. She was pleased to see that her mom was having a good day and the two could reminisce about the past without her mother being stuck in it.

Later, while her father grilled some burger for them, she laid in her mother's bed and watched a few movies with her. It was something they did when she was young and she was sick, her mother would lay in bed with her and watch Disney movies with her until she felt better.

She ate lunch with her parents, then while her mother rested, she had coffee and cookies with her father. She checked the time on her phone, seeing that it was close to four in the afternoon and realized she needed to leave soon. She hated leaving while her mom was having a good day, but her father pointed out that she would be sleeping for the rest of the afternoon anyways.

He ushered her to the door, then handed her a wrapped box, a present he had bought for Jack. He told her to go have fun, then he gave her a tender kiss on top of her head and told her bye.

She promised him she would visit soon, then she left her childhood home to head for the zoo. She lowered her eyebrows in concern as she began to see checkpoints the closer she got to Manhattan.

She saw several officers checking out dark-colored SUV's, they were looking under them, inside them and talking to anyone inside the vehicle. She wasn't all that surprised when a cop motioned for her to pull over and park behind other SUV's waiting to be checked, of course she had to be driving the type of vehicle they were looking for.

She did as she was instructed, then switched the engine off, but kept the car on to run the air. She nervously tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she thought about all the different scenarios that would result in a police check. Was there a kidnapping or a fugitive on the run? Although she figured there would have been a report if it was one of those reasons.

As much as she hated to think about it, her mind went back to when she was taken. Spencer had told her afterwards about all the police checkpoints that were out as they searched for Jimmie's van that she was tied up in. He wanted her to know that there were people looking for her, he wanted her to know he never gave up on finding her.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see a cop approach the driver side window, until she heard a light tap on the glass. She jumped slightly and snapped her head to the side with wide eyes. She blew out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Jamie.

"Hey, what's going on?" Noelle asked as she rolled down the window. Swallowing hard, she nervously asked,"Was-Was someone taken?"

"No, it's a car bomb threat." Jamie answered as he glanced inside the car, making it look like he was checking her vehicle while he quietly spoke to her.

"Oh, my God. In Manhattan?" She questioned.

"It could be. I don't know, I haven't been told a lot." He said. "Me and Renzulli were just sent here to help out with the checkpoints."

"That's the disadvantage of being on the bottom." She began to say. "They don't really tell you much, they just give orders and expect you to follow them blindly."

"Right." He said with a slight chuckle. "So where are you coming from? Your parents?"

"Yeah, and was on my way to meet Linda..." She paused for a minute, then with a gasp added,"Oh my God, Linda! I was supposed to meet her and the boys at the zoo. Did they make it back home?"

"I don't know. Last I heard Danny hasn't been able to get in touch with her."

"I should go look-"

"No." Jamie interrupted her, knowing what she was going to suggest. She wanted to go further into the city, where a car bomb could be anywhere, but he couldn't agree with that plan, he would never agree to something like that. He wanted his sister-in-law and nephews safe, but he needed to know she was safe as well.

"But, Jamie, they could be out there and have no idea what is going on-"

"I know. I get it, Nol, trust me, but I can't let you pass through and go into the city." He said, cutting her off again.

"You can't let me?" She questioned. "Are you going cop on me, Jamie?"

"That didn't come out right." He said with a shake of his head. "Look, I'm asking you... begging actually, please Nol, just turn around and go. You can go back to your parents, okay? Just anywhere but the city."

She looked at him for a moment, seeing how worried he was; for her safety, for his and everyone else's. Finally she gave him a nod as she asked,"You'll keep me updated?"

"Yeah, I'll keep you updated." He promised.

"Okay."

"Okay." He repeated as he smiled at her, relieved that she listened to him and was staying away from the city. He tapped the top of the car, signalling that he was done checking the car, then told her he would call her later before he backed up and kept the road clear for her to turn around and head back in the direction she just came from.

She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw him walk over to another vehicle to check it, before looking back at the road. She had only been driving a few minutes when she heard her cell phone ringing.

She kept her eyes on the road as she reached over to the passenger seat to dig into her purse to grab the ringing device. She didn't even glance at the screen as she answered the call, thinking it might be Jamie calling her already.

She lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she heard some static on the other end before the call was dropped. She was about to look at the caller id until the phone began to ring again. A quick look at the screen told her it was Danny, making her assume it was him the first time too.

"Please tell me you are with Linda." He asked as soon as she answered the call.

"I wish I could." Noelle said. "I was on my way to meet up with her and the boys when I went through a checkpoint."

"Damn it." She heard him quietly swear over the phone.

"Jamie said you can't get in touch with her." She stated.

"No, it keeps going to voicemail." He said, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "She probably forgot to plug it up last night again. The damn battery's so old it won't hold a charge."

"I offered to go find her-"

"No." He cut her off.

She breathed out a chuckle,"What is it with you bossy Reagans? Jamie said the same thing. He told me I should go back to my parent's house."

"You should listen to the kid." He said. "But you can do one thing for me, keep trying to call her. I know it might be pointless, but maybe-"

"I'll do it." Noelle said. "And when I get back to the house, I'll look up the number for the zoo and see if they can page her or something."

"Thank you, Little Bit." He said with a sigh.

"Hey, Danny..." She softly said, hearing how tired and frustrated he sounded.

"Yeah?"

"It's going to be okay."

A small smile appeared on his face for a brief moment, before he said,"From your lips to God's ears, Little Bit."

"Amen to that." She breathed out.

After ending the call, she dialed Linda's number, but like Danny, all she got was her voicemail. She let out a sigh as she tossed her phone into the passenger seat. She felt hopeless, everyone she cared about could be in danger and there was nothing she could do about it but wait and hoped it all ended well.

For a moment she couldn't help but wonder if this was the way Spencer felt so many months ago and she had no doubt her family and friends would have felt the same way if they had known, making her relieved to know they didn't know. This was not a feeling she would want them to feel.

As she pulled back into her parent's driveway, she said a silent prayer, hoping everyone would be okay.

•••

Jamie kept his word and sent her several text messages throughout the day to keep her updated on everything. The bomber ended up being a woman who could have passed for a soccer mom and was let through the checkpoint. She had her son with her and had planned to meet up with her husband at Washington Square Park and set off the bomb so they all could end up in a 'beautiful place' together. Danny played a huge role in stopping her and the bomb squad was about to defuse the bomb, everything ended up okay, just the way she had prayed.

It was hours later after his tour that Jamie arrived at her house. She was sitting in the family room playing cards with her parents when there was a knock at the door. She laid her cards down on the coffee table, then stood up to leave the room and answer the door. A smile appeared on her face when she saw it was Jamie on the other side.

He was in the middle of telling her hey when she threw herself into his arms, slightly knocking him off guard as she hugged him tight. He let out a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her to hug her back, the two silently held each other for a moment.

"Sorry." Noelle mumbled out an apology as she took a step back, ending the hug. "I didn't mean- I'm just glad you're okay, that everyone is okay. Today could have went completely the other way."

"Yeah, we were all lucky." Jamie said, stepping into the house and turned to shut the front door. He turned back to look at her with a smile on his face. "But, hey, don't ever apologize for hugging me."

"I wasn't apologizing for hugging you. I was apologizing for basically attacking you." She explained with a laugh. As he shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal, she added,"Although you are probably used to girls throwing themselves at you, right? I remember how it was in high school and I'm sure it's worse now with the uniform."

As he shook his head, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink, she added,"Oh, hey, you remember that girl in high school? The one who had that huge crush on you? She would follow us around everywhere."

"Yeah, her name was, Sara, right?" He questioned.

"Yeah." She said with a nod. "I remember you felt so bad, that you finally took her out so you could let her down gently." Even as a teenager he was always sweet and considerate of others, one of the many reasons she fell for him at a young age.

"Yeah, then a week later she was chasing another guy." He said with a laugh. "I was easily replaced, I guess."

"You can never be replaced, Jamie Reagan." She said honestly.

He smiled at her comment, catching her eyes as he thought the same about her. The two continued to stare at each other, different emotions and thoughts going through their heads, until they heard footsteps heading toward them.

"Jamie!" Her mother, Evie, said happily when she saw him standing by the door.

"Hey, Mrs. Kelley." He said with a smile as he gave her a hug.

"Psh, Mrs. Kelley?" She kissed his cheek, then pulled back to look at him. "What did I tell you about calling me that." She teased.

"Sorry, Evie." He laughed as she kissed his cheek again.

"Yes, Evie or you can call me Mama Kelley." Pinching his cheeks she added,"Do you remember when you were a little boy and you use to call me Mama Kelley?"

"I remember." Jamie said, glancing over at Noelle and her father, from the smiles on their faces he knew that meant that Evie was having a good day, she was in the present with them.

"Come, come, let's go sit." Evie said, grabbing his hands. "We're playing a game. You can play with us and then we'll make some cookies. Chocolate chip, your favorite."

"I would love to, but we have a birthday party to go to." He said, referring to himself and Noelle, as he shot her an apologetic smile. He glanced over at Byron for a moment, then looked back at Evie,"You two can come too if you want. It's just a small family get together, but you know you two are always invited."

"I appreciate the invitation." Byron spoke up before his wife could. "But it's been a long day, I think we better sit this one out."

"Oh, honey, no, I think we should go." Evie argued with her husband. "I don't want to miss little Jamie's birthday."

"No, Evie, it's not my birthday, it's Jack's." Jamie corrected her.

"Who's Jack?" She questioned as she looked at each of them, her memory starting to slip. "I-I don't know a Jack." She added, her confusion starting to upset her. Turning to look at her husband she asked,"Do I know Jack?"

Jamie glanced over at Noelle for a moment, seeing the concern look on her face as she watched her mother getting even more agitated and upset at not remembering. She was having such a good day, then in a flash it was over.

He looked back at the older woman, laying his hands on her shoulders to get her attention and hopefully calm her down. "Shh, it's okay, Evie, I didn't mean to say Jack, I meant to say..."

"Joe?" Evie guessed when he paused to think of a name. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach when she said his deceased brother's name.

With a forced smile, he lied,"Yeah, Joe. It's Joe's birthday."

"Tell your brother I said happy birthday." Evie said smiling. "And tell him to come see me soon, I haven't seen him in a while. I'll make him some of those brownies he loves."

"We'll tell him, Mom." Noelle spoke up as she walked over to Jamie, seeing how hard all of this was for him. "We should get going now though, okay?"

"Okay, sweetie, just don't forget your curfew." Evie said to her daughter as she gave her a hug. She smiled at her mom, then felt her face fall as she looked over at her dad. He gave her a hug, telling her not to worry, he'll give her mother her medicine and get her to rest more, then everything will be okay.

After telling her parents bye, she grabbed Jamie's arm and began to lead him outside. She glanced over at him for a minute as the two walked side by side, before she asked him if he was okay.

"Yeah, I just-I didn't expect that to happen." He said. "She was fine one minute, then slipped into the past the next, it happened so fast."

"Yeah, it does." She softly said, coming to a stop by her car. "I'm sorry about that though, I know it had to be hard hearing about Joe."

"It's okay." He said with a shake of the head. He knew she didn't mean anything by it. He was more worried about his friend, it had to be hard witnessing a parent going through something like that.

The two were quiet for a moment, then they got into their separate cars, not wanting to be late for the party. She followed Jamie one street over to his childhood home and parked behind him in front of the house. She stepped out of her car as he did, seeing him holding a few pizza boxes. When she saw that he was about to drop one, she rushed over to him and quickly grabbed it.

"Let me guess, that one's yours and you're gonna make the rest of us fight over the other two." He joked, causing her to playfully kick him in the butt, before the two walked toward the door laughing.

"Pizza pie! Get it while it's hot!" Jamie announced as they made their way inside the house, where most of the Reagans were; minus Danny, Linda and the kids.

Noelle sat down the pizza in her hand, then began to go around the room hugging everyone as Danny arrived. She gave him a big hug and felt him kiss the side of her head as he thanked her for trying to help him earlier with Linda.

"Thank me? I didn't do anything. You did though and you deserve all the thanks." She said back. "From what I hear you were amazing today, Danny."

"Ah, hail the conquering hero!" Henry said, hugging Danny next.

"You wouldn't know it from the ass-chewing I just got from my sergeant, the ESU sergeant, the SWAT team, the task force." He said, grabbing a beer.

"You did good, son." Frank spoke up. "If you got your ass chewed, you deserved it."

"Thanks, Dad." Danny said back. He glanced around the room, then asked,"Where's Linda and the kids?"

"She'll be here." Erin said as she set the table.

As if on cue, they heard the door open, followed by Linda calling out to them. Everyone greeted her and the kids, wishing Jack a happy birthday, and giving out hugs. Danny's other son Sean ran over to Noelle, holding out a bag of pink cotton candy.

"Hey, Noelle, we got you this." He said, referring to himself and his brother.

"Thanks, guys." She said happily as she took the bag from him. "I _love_ cotton candy."

"And popcorn, and cracker jacks, and-"

"We get it, Jams. No need to make a list." She joked as she cut off her friend with a laugh.

As the other Reagans laughed at the friends, Linda looked over at her and asked,"Hey, what happened to you today?"

"I'm sorry, I meant to meet up with you all, but I..." She began to say as she glanced around the room at the other family members, realizing they didn't want her to reveal what happened that day. They didn't want to scare the kids or ruin Jack's birthday, she had no doubt Danny would fill her in on everything later.

Looking back at Linda, she continued,"I got caught up."

Linda nodded her head in understanding, then looked around the room in confusion, between the looks on everyone's faces and the way Danny was clinging to her, she knew something had happened that day. She asked them what was going on, but everyone quickly answered that everything was okay as they began to sit down at the table and ask how the zoo was.

"Mom, can I eat on the back porch?" Jack asked.

"Uh, Frank?" Linda questioned as she looked over at him.

"I didn't make up the rules for dinner." Frank pointed out, then looked over at his father, waiting for him to answer.

"Well, on Sundays we always eat at the dinner table. But on birthday Saturdays, anything goes." Henry said. When the kids jumped up, he added,"But... after grace."

As the others began to talk, Jamie leaned over toward his friend sitting beside him as he asked,"So are you going to share the cotton candy?"

"Nope." Noelle answered, hugging the bag against her chest. Shooting him a look, she added,"And I'm not letting it out of my sight either. We're not gonna have a repeat of the cracker jack's incident."

"You still think I took it?" He questioned as a chuckle escaped his lips.

"I know you did. You can't be trusted around snacks." She joked.

"You can never prove that." He said back as he placed a birthday hat on top of her head, then laughed when she flashed him a funny face.

The two friends were lost in their own little world until Frank spoke up, saying there was something he wanted to say.

He waited until he had everyone's attention, before he continued,"We all went our separate ways this morning, and we all expected to return to our family to celebrate this wonderful young man's birthday." He paused to smile over at his grandson. "And here we are. And I feel very blessed and fortunate for that."

Noelle smiled at his words, her eyes landing on each family member; like Frank, she felt blessed and fortunate to be sitting with the Reagans again like she did so many times in the past. It was moments like these that she thought about when she felt like she couldn't go on, when it was getting too hard to fight Jimmie, these moments are what gave her the strength to keep fighting.

As Frank asked Jamie to say grace, she glanced over at her friend for a minute, then lowered her head, saying her own private prayer as she thanked the lord for getting her back here- for getting her home.

•••

After many pizza slices and tons of laughs, Danny and his family went home, while Erin had a drink with her father and grandfather. Jamie grabbed the rest of the cake and two forks, then nodded toward the back door, inviting Noelle to go sit on the porch with him. She smiled and gave him a nod, before the two made their way outside.

She walked past all the other chairs and went to her favorite place to sit, the wooden porch swing, although it could actually be called a bed since it was about as big and comfortable as one.

She laid back against the many pillows then kicked her foot, making it slowly swing back and forth. She looked out into the backyard like she had done so many times before in the past. This was one of her all time favorite places in the world, a place she had always felt so safe.

"Scoot over." Jamie said, plopping down beside her, laying the cake in between them then handed her a fork. The two were quiet for a moment as they took a few bites of the cake. He looked out over the yard; like she did earlier, before breaking the silence.

"Today turned out to be a good day."

"Mm-hm." Noelle took another bite of cake, then after swallowing the piece, said,"I'm not going to lie though, there were times I was worried."

"So was I." He admitted. He turned his head to look at her,"But here we are."

"Yeah, here we are." She softly said back as he continued to stared at her. She didn't know if she was imagining things or not, but she could almost swear he was looking at her in a way she always dreamed he would, but in a flash it was gone and he looked away.

She glanced down at the cake for a minute, telling herself she was just seeing things, then to fill the silence, she asked,"So, other than the bomb threat, how was your day at work?"

"I arrested a hot dog." He simply said while she took another bite of cake, almost spitting it out.

"Seriously?" She asked with a laugh. "Were you that hungry, Jams?"

"Shut up." He said, laughing along with her. "It was this guy in a costume. I thought Renzulli was just screwing with me, but the guy did have a stash of illegal prescription drugs on him."

"Wow, good job, Jams." She said, holding up her fork for him to hit his with as a way to 'toast' him. "You are cleaning up the streets, one weenie at a time."

"I knew I shouldn't have told you." He complained as he laid back against the swing.

"Maybe next time you'll get lucky and it'll be a pig in a blanket." She joked, ignoring his comment.

"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up."

She let out a laugh, then looked down at him as she said,"You know I'm just kidding with you. I really am proud of you, Jamie. I have no doubt you really are making a difference out there."

"Thanks, Nol." He said, flashing her a smile.

"You're welcome." She said back with a smile of her own. "Besides, I got to say, it was kinda cool seeing you on the job today."

She bit her bottom lip for a moment, her mind wandering back to earlier that day and how he looked in his uniform. She didn't think about it much at the time with everything going on, but now that things worked out in the end, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about it. But those were thoughts she couldn't speak out loud.

"Yeah, speaking of that, I'm sorry if I seemed bossy with you." Jamie said, pulling her away from her naughty thoughts.

She cleared her throat, then looked over at him. Shaking her head, she said,"It's okay, I understand. I'm sorry I was being difficult."

"You're always difficult, so I barely noticed." He joked, causing her to playfully punch his shoulder. He let out a laugh and rubbed his shoulder. "It's fine. I know you were worried about Linda and the boys, I was too, but I was also worried about you, Nol. I feel like I finally got you back, and I'm not looking to lose you again."

Her face fell for a moment as she thought about how close he did come to losing her and he didn't even know it. Sometimes she felt like confiding in him, telling him everything that happened; something Spencer had been pushing her to do since it happened, but another part of her couldn't do it. She didn't think she could handle going back there and reliving what happened just yet.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He questioned when he saw the look on her face. One minute she was happy and laughing, and the next she had that terrified look on her face, the one he had noticed several times since she moved back.

At his question, she plastered a smile on her face, then turned her head to look at him, a little surprised to see he had moved closer to her. She shook her head, then said,"Nothing. Just thinking about close calls, you know?"

"Yeah, but then moments like this happen, you know?" He said back. "Sitting here with a good friend, celebrating birthdays, and being surrounded by family."

"That is true." She said with a smile. "And it was a good birthday. I think Jack had a great time."

"I think so too." He said with a nod. He was quiet for a moment in thought, then said,"Hey, you know what it reminds me of? My eleventh birthday. Remember that? Mom had taken you and me to the zoo."

"Yeah, then we went out for ice cream sundaes afterwards."

"Of course you'd remember the food part." He joked.

"Ha-ha." She said sarcastically. She glanced down at the cake between them, an idea- correction, an evil idea, popped into her head. "You know, all this talk about your eleventh birthday reminds me of mine. One part in particularly."

When he turned his head to ask her which part, she grabbed a chunk of cake and smashed it in his face. His mouth dropped open as he looked over at her in surprise, seeing that she was laughing out loud about what she had done to him.

"You're gonna pay for that, Nol." He playfully threatened as he grabbed some cake to get her back.

Seeing what he was doing, she threw up her hands to stop him, but when she realized that was pointless, she used them to cover her face, then felt him slam the cake on top of her head, smashing it into her hair. She let out a squeal of laughter and tried to grab more cake to throw at him, but as soon as she moved her hands, he had already grabbed more and smashed it in her face.

The two went back and forth a few times, then found themselves in a compromising situation. She didn't know when it happened, one minute cake was flying, then the next she was laid back against the swing with him hovering above her, reminding them both of something else that happened at her eleventh birthday party; their first kiss.

Jamie didn't know what came over him as he laid a hand on the side of her face, cupping her cheek. Seeing a smudge of chocolate icing on her bottom lip, he lightly ran his thumb over her lip to remove it. He had to force himself to hold back a groan when he saw her tongue dart out to lick the lip he just touched.

He stared down at her lips, his breathing labored like hers, then he glanced up to look into her eyes, until he heard his cell phone ringing. He quickly jumped back, and felt a bit of guilt when he saw it was his fiancée. Nothing happened, but for a brief moment, a small part of him thought about it. He knew he couldn't have those kind of thoughts though, not about her- not his best friend.

He stood up from the swing, motioning toward the phone,"It's Syd. I should take this."

"Right, yeah, right." She mumbled as she jumped up and subconsciously ran a hand through her hair, pulling a chunk of cake from it. She cleared her throat, willing her heart to stop racing, then added,"I should get going anyways."

"You don't have to leave." He said, feeling like if she left now, he might not see her for a while. He couldn't help but feel like she was pulling away from him, like she was distancing herself because of what just happened. He couldn't really blame her though, it probably embarrassed her or made her uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I do." She said back. She nodded toward the still ringing phone,"You should talk to your fiancée." She saw him glance at the phone, then looked back at her, like for a moment he was actually torn on what to do, but she was going to make the choice easy for him.

Giving him a small smile, she softly said,"Goodbye, Jamie."

Without another word, she turned to walk down the porch stairs, ignoring him as he called out her name, and circled around the house to get to her car. She had a feeling Henry and Frank would not be happy about her tracking cake into the house.

As she walked to her car she thought about what happened earlier, but as much as she liked it, she knew it couldn't happen ever again. Jamie is her best friend- her engaged best friend, and even though she had never been a fan of Sydney she was not that kind of girl.

She slid behind the wheel of her car and knew what she had to do, she had to back off. She needed to stop hanging out with him so much, especially alone, before something did happen and he regretted it because she knew he would.

They just got caught up in the moment, but she knew where his heart really lies, it was with Sydney. She knew that is who he loved, he was marrying her for crying out loud. He did not have feeling like that for her, he never would, and she just needed to keep reminding herself of that. She'll just have to push her feelings aside and just be his friend, and lucky for her she had years of practice doing just that.

•••

 _A/N; Hey all, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story._

 _Also big thanks to werks, BLBLF, lilnightmare17, jlmayer, Guest, mcgeeksgirl, BlueBlood82, Eddie Reagan, samantha572, Jamison H. Reagan, BrookeErinMelton, QueensGambit and Guest for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	6. Family Ties

**06; Family Ties**

As much as she enjoyed her job, there were the rare few times she hated it, and this night happened to be one of those times as she parked her car in front of an apartment building. Inside were three teenagers dead from a new drug. She had heard there was another teenager involved, but the first officers on the scene were able to resuscitate her and she was on the way to the hospital. She sent up a silent prayer, hoping the girl made it through this.

Arriving on the scene for any dead body was hard, but it was worse when it was someone so young, someone who was once so full of life. She couldn't help but think of her brother, he could have been one of those kids growing up, and the thing that scared her the most was, he still could be. She was forever dreading the day she got a call to come collect his body.

Stepping out of her car, she was headed for the building until she heard a familiar voice calling out her name. She spun around in surprise and saw Jamie jogging over to her. She swallowed hard, trying to stop her eyes from roaming over his uniformed body. She also had to stop her mind from remember the other night on the porch when he was pressed so close to her, his hand resting on her cheek, his thumb moving across her bottom lip...

She loudly cleared her throat and stood up straight, pushing those imagines from her mind, and flashed him a forced smile when he came to a stop in front of her.

"Hey." Jamie said, his eyes dropped down to her lips for a moment before he jerked his eyes up. He didn't know what had gotten into him lately, but he was having a hard time keeping her off of his mind and an even harder time stopping himself from thinking of her in ways he shouldn't be.

"Hey, you're here. I wasn't expecting that." Noelle said. Realizing how that sounded, she quietly added,"I didn't mean it like that, I just... I meant-"

"It's okay." He cut her off. "Renzulli and I were the officers on the scene."

"You were the one who saved the girl." She guessed with a proud smile on her face. She reached out to lay her hand on top of his, which was resting on the belt of his uniform, she gave it a light squeeze and said,"Good job, Jams."

As he smiled at her, causing her stomach to flip-flop, she realized this was the kind of situation she told herself she needed to avoid. Telling him she needed to get to work, she went to pull her hand away, but he quickly reached out to grab her hand, holding it in his as he asked her to wait a minute.

He took a step closer to her as he softly said,"I've been calling you and texting-"

"I know, I'm sorry. I've just-I've been busy." She lied. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him or even see him, she was just trying to do the right thing.

He laid his other hand on the back of his neck and nervously rubbing it as he brought up the one subject she had hoped he wouldn't.

"About the other night, on the porch-"

"We don't have to talk about it." She cut him off and pulled her hand away. "We were just goofing around. It was nothing."

"So we're okay?" He questioned.

"Mm-hm." She nodded. "Why wouldn't we be? Nothing happened, right?"

Jamie stared at her for a moment, every part of him wanted to shout that something did happen, something was happening between them and he didn't know what to do about it, but he couldn't say any of that. Instead, he gave her a short nod, agreeing that nothing happened even though he knew that was a lie. He felt like that was just one of the many lies he had been telling himself lately.

Seeing her co-worker arrive, she gestured over her shoulder and took a step back,"I should get to work."

"Well, wait, listen, I'm working a double, but I'll be done around seven. Do you wanna meet up for dinner?" He questioned as he took a step toward her.

"I'll probably still be at work." She said, taking another step then saw him step forward again to follow her.

"What about later this week? I'm on nights just about every day. I can meet you for your lunch break."

"I'll be busy, probably won't get many lunch breaks anyway."

"This weekend?" He tried again. "Saturday I go in even later, I have the graveyard shift, but if you wanted to grab an early dinner?"

She bit her bottom lip, wishing more than anything she could say yes, but she had to remain strong. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, she heard her co-worker calling out for her. She turned her head to look at him and tell him she was coming, then turned back to look at Jamie as she began to walk backwards.

"I'm busy then too, I'm sorry, Jamie. But you should still catch an early dinner with your fiancée. I'll see you later."

Without another word, she turned and walked over to her co-worker, before the two began to walk toward the apartment building to get to work. Jamie stood still for a moment, watching her walk away and felt his face fall. He knew her job was demanding, as was his, but he also knew this was more than that. After growing up with her, he knew everything about her.

He knew she would rather eat junk for dinner than make something because she was too lazy to cook. He knew how she liked her hamburger and she would rather have onion rings than french fries. He knew she would never admit that a movie scared her, instead she would sit up straight and force herself not to look away, not wanting to show any fear, which was why he would always reach out to grab her hand during those parts. He knew that little touch, that little bit of comfort, could get her through the next hour of any spooky scene on the screen.

He knew when she was happy, he knew when she was sad, he knew when she was lying and he knew when she was avoiding something, and right now, it was him. He just didn't know what to do about it.

•••

For the rest of the night and into the next morning, Noelle was busy at work. Her co-worker tried to get her to go back home and catch a few more hours of sleep, but she declined, instead she wanted to jump right into the autopsies. She wanted to keep her mind busy so it didn't think about other things, like a certain best friend in his blue uniform. Plus she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anyways.

Hours later and one more body to go, she paused for a minute when she heard her cell phone ringing. She removed the gloves and apron she was wearing over a pair of scrubs, then reached into the pocket to pull out her phone. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she didn't recognize the number, for a moment she was almost too scared to answer it.

She stared at the ringing device a minute longer, then raised it to her ear as she gave a hesitant greeting.

She felt her heart drop when the voice on the other end informed her that her brother had been admitted into the ICU at one of the local hospitals from a drug overdose. It was touch and go for a while, but at the moment he was stable. She thanked the woman on the other end, then rushed from the room and headed for the parking lot.

Minutes later, she ran inside the hospital, asking for her brother, and was directed to his room. She never slowed down until she was inside the room and saw him laying in the hospital bed. When she saw his eyes flutter open, she blew out a relieved breath and laid a hand over her mouth to hold back a sob.

"Hey, sis." Baylor croaked out.

"Bay..." Noelle whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"I'm okay." He said, trying to calm her. He might not have always been the best big brother, but he could never handle seeing her cry, it always tore at his heart. "It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" She exclaimed. "You could have died, Baylor!"

"It's not as bad as I'm sure they made it out to be."

"It's always like this with you." Pacing back and forth in front of his bed, she added,"You always try to downplay everything, but look at where you are, Baylor! You're in a hospital! You have to stop this-"

"Okay, okay, calm down." He interrupted her.

"What did you take? Was it M-CAT?" She questioned.

"What? Hell no." He said. "That stuffs too rich for my blood. I heard good shit about it though."

"Oh yeah, it's great." She said sarcastically. "I was in the middle of three autopsies of teenagers who thought it was good too and now they're dead."

"Kids shouldn't be messing with that anyways."

"That's funny coming from you. You started drugs when you were that age."

"But I was careful. I know what the hell I'm doing." He argued.

"Apparently not!" She stated as she gestured toward the bed, pointing out that he was in the hospital now because of an overdose.

She blew out a breath, trying to calm herself down, she knew yelling at him would get nowhere. She walked over to the side of the bed and sat down in the chair beside him.

"Baylor, please, you have to get help." She pleaded with him as she reached out to lay her hands on top of his. "I'll help you. I'll get you the help you need and you can stay with me until you're clean- just whatever you need. But Baylor, you have to get better and you have to come home, Mom and Dad need you-"

"I don't know if that is a good idea." He cut her off. "Come on, sis, you were there, things were never good between me and them. They were always on my case about something. I'm sure they would not want to see me."

She shook her head at his words, then said,"That's not true. Bay, they won't care about any of that. They love you and miss you. Do you know how bad Mom has gotten? She's-She keeps forgetting things and getting lost in the past, she ask for you a lot. You just need to come home. Please."

"Okay, look, I'll think about it, okay?" He said. "At least the coming home part, maybe, but I don't need help, sis. I'm fine. All of this was... it wasn't that big of a deal. I just had a little too much to drink."

"It was a drug overdose, Baylor." She pointed out.

"Okay, fine, it was too much drugs and too much drinking, but it still wasn't that big of a deal." He admitted. "I've done double that before and was fine. It's just one of those things, you know?"

"No, I don't know, actually." She said, leaning toward him. "But I do know, that you're my brother and I love you, and I can't lose you, Bay. Don't disappear on me again, okay?"

He nodded his head, then shot her a smirk,"Although, you don't really have room to talk. You hightailed it to Florida."

"Yeah, but that was for work. I wasn't hiding out or hiding from everyone." She pointed out.

"You sure about that?" He questioned as he shot her a look.

"What does that mean?" She asked confused.

"Come on, I may be out of it most of the time, but I'm not stupid." He began to say. "It wasn't just for a job. It was more than that... you were running from a heartbreak."

"I don't- I don't know what you're talking about." She lied as she shook her head.

"Don't play dumb, sis. You know." He said back. "And you still haven't told him, have you? I bet you still haven't told Little J how you feel about him, have you?" He questioned, referring to Jamie with his childhood nickname.

"He knows we're friends-"

"Jeez, Noelle, when are you going to stop? You want me to get better and to be honest, right? Maybe you should start giving that honesty thing a try too." He said.

He never really played the part of big brother with her, he was usually off somewhere getting high, but he figured maybe now was a good time to try. "You love that boy, you always have. Maybe it's time you finally tell him that."

"He's engaged." She reminded him.

"But he ain't married." He said back.

"Not yet, but he will be." She argued. She shook her head, then added,"And how do you even know this anyways? How do you know how I feel about him?"

Baylor laughed at her question, then said,"'Cause you're not as slick as you think you are." He paused for a minute, then admitted,"And also because I read your diary."

"What?" She exclaimed. "God, Baylor!"

"Hey, I didn't mean to. I was looking for something-"

"Something to pawn?" She guessed.

"Yeah, fine, something to pawn. But anyways, I saw it and was curious." He said with a shrug.

She shook her head at him and let out a chuckle. She blew out a breath, then said,"Well, I guess I can't be too mad at you about that. I read your diary once too."

With a scoff, he said,"I don't have a diary." When she shot him a look, he added,"No, that wasn't a diary. That was a journal... a man journal."

She threw back her head and let out a loud laugh at his comment. She leaned toward the bed, quiet in thought for a minute, then said,"I think if you're going to stay with me, we need to set some rules. The biggest being, no more reading diaries."

"Man journal." He corrected her.

"Okay, no more reading diaries or man journals." She added with a laugh.

The two were silent for a moment, until she gave him a smile, then said,"I'm really glad you're okay and we're going to get you better, Bay." As he gave her a short nod, she asked him,"When are you being released?"

"They said I should be out in a day or two, then I'm sure the cops will want to talk to me."

"Maybe you can just talk to Danny." She suggested.

"That'll be even worse." He said with a scoff. "Danny hasn't liked me since I beat his ass on the basketball courts. He claims I cheated, I told him he just sucks."

"Yeah, I'm sure he's still holding on to that hatred." She said sarcastically. She thought about it for a moment, then jokingly said,"Actually on second thought, he could still be bitter about that."

As he laughed at her comment, she leaned back against the chair,"Well, on the bright side, you have your pick of Reagan's. You don't have to talk to Danny."

"Yeah, I might talk to Little J. I mean, I know he's a rookie, but he's still a cop so it's all the same." He shook his head with a chuckle,"I still can't believe that boy became a cop. I really thought he was gonna make it as a lawyer."

"Well, he's always had blue in his blood." She pointed out.

"And you in his heart, sis." He stated. "No other girl can replace you. And one day, he's going to realize that too."

Noelle lowered her head, wishing she could believe his words, but she feared if she did, it would only end in more heartache when it didn't come true.

Hearing a beep, she pulled her phone out, seeing that it was work. She stood up from the chair, giving her brother a smile as she told him she needed to get back to work.

Leaning down to give him a hug, she said,"I'll be back tomorrow to visit, okay? And I'll start looking for a place, some kind of recover center or something for you. This is gonna be good, you're gonna be good. I'm bringing you home."

Baylor nodded his head and flashed her a forced smile, then said,"I'll see ya, sis."

She gave him another smile, then turned to leave the room, excited for this new chapter in their life. She had always loved her big brother, she had always looked up to him, but things had never been great all the time between them.

When he was around and clean, he was the best brother she could ask for, but when things were bad, they were bad. He would snap at the drop of a hat, he would argue with their parents, steal anything valuable to pawn for a quick fix, then he would disappear for months at a time.

There were times growing up she worried if she would ever see him again. Then once she got older, a phone call like today was one of her worst fears. Which was why she wanted to be listed as his emergency contact, that way if anything ever did happen, she would find out first, her parents already had enough going on.

She couldn't help but wonder that maybe this incident was a blessing in disguise, maybe with her help, she would finally be able to bring him home for good and she can finally have her big brother back.

•••

Later that night, after his tour, Jamie stepped into a bar to meet his brother, Danny. He glanced at his silent cell phone for a minute then blew out a breath when he saw he still had no messages from Noelle.

Seeing his brother sitting at the bar waiting for him, he slipped his phone back into his pocket then called a greeting. As his brother called out to the bartender, Jamie sat down on the stool beside him.

"Sydney's got dinner waiting, so..." Jamie began to say, explaining that he can't stay long.

"Hey, it's one beer with your brother, all right?" Danny pointed out as he picked up the mug that was just placed in front of him. Holding it up, he added,"The old man always said to celebrate your victories. You saved a girl's life. Feel good about it."

"You got a major drug dealer off the street." Jamie added, referring to a drug bust he and his partner busted earlier that day.

"To the good guys." Danny said as the two tap their mugs together.

Danny took a sip of his beer, then watched his brother from the corner of his eye as he pulled out his cell phone and checked it before slipping it back into his pocket with a disappointed shake of the head.

"Everything okay, kid?" He questioned. "Things good at home and all?"

"Yeah, yeah, they're good." Jamie answered as he took a sip from his mug. As Danny nod his head and turned up his mug, Jamie added,"It's just... have you talked to Noelle?"

"When? Today?" Danny asked. When he nodded, he answered,"Not yet. She's suppose to get in touch once she has some information for me." Turning his head to look at him, he asked,"Why? What's going on?"

"I dunno, I just- I guess I'm being paranoid." Jamie said, not wanting to get into it all with his brother. He was already confused enough as it was and didn't need Danny's thoughts on it too. There was something else he was curious about though.

"But, hey, times that you have talked to her, has she ever mentioned anything to you about Florida?"

"Florida? What do you mean Florida? What are you talking about?"

"From when she was living there... has she said anything or made any comment that made you wonder if something could have happened?"

"Kid, what are you talking about?" Danny asked confused.

"You haven't noticed how scared she looks sometimes?" Jamie questioned.

"Scared? No, and if I had, I would steer clear of her. The girl has a habit of swinging things when she's scared." Danny said, subconsciously rubbing his head where she hit him years ago with a cast iron skillet.

He looked at his brother closely, then asked,"Where is all of this coming from?"

"I don't know, just things she has said, her reactions to things." Jamie began to say. A worried look appeared on his face,"Danny, I think something really bad happened to her down there and I don't know what to do."

"Have you asked her?"

"Of course I have, but she keeps saying everything is fine." Jamie said. "And, I dunno, maybe it is, but I mean, she left here in such a hurry and was gone for years, then all of a sudden she's back again. What if she's running from something?"

"Or what if she just missed home. What if she wanted to be closer to her parents. Or what if she had a bad breakup." Danny said, pointing out other reasons. "There could be a number of reasons or no reason at all, but if she was going to tell anyone the reason, it would be you. You two, you use to tell each other everything, so why wouldn't she tell you this?"

"She never even told me why she left to begin with." Jamie pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's obvious." Danny said with a chuckle as he took a sip of his beer.

In his opinion it wasn't hard to figure out why. It wasn't long after Jamie popped the question to Sydney that she announced she was moving to Florida. But when he saw the confused look on his brother's face, he realized maybe it was that hard for some to figure out. He wasn't going to be the one to tell him though, instead he shrugged his shoulders, then simply said,"She went for work."

"Yeah, but I always felt like it was more than that."

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, I dunno, but don't you find it just a little bit strange that the girl you are worried so much about is the one that is not your fiancée?"

"No." Jamie said, confused on why he would even ask that. "This is Noelle, Danny. She's family."

"Yeah, but she's not." Danny argued.

Taking offense to the comment, Jamie turned in his seat as he snapped,"So you're saying you don't consider her family?"

"No, no, that's not what I'm saying." Danny said, seeing how mad he was getting. "Look, I love that girl like a sister. I would do anything for her and I know you would too, but at the end of the day, she's not your sister, kid. That's all I'm saying."

Jamie looked down at his drink, knowing there was more that Danny was saying. He was saying the things that have been running through his head lately. Obviously, he knew Noelle wasn't really family, but he always consider her as such. He had to look at her like a sister, he couldn't look at her any other way.

There was a moment when they were kids, after he kissed her on her birthday, that he began to think of her in another way, but after a talk with his brother, Joe, he realized he would rather keep her in his life as a friend, than risk ruining what they have and losing her altogether.

Since that moment he wouldn't allow himself to look at her any other way or at least he didn't until recently. Now he felt like the biggest jerk on the planet because he has an amazing fiancée waiting for him at home, but there was a part of him that wanting to be somewhere else, that wanted to spend time with someone else.

While Jamie was deep in thought, Danny heard his cell phone beep with a new text. He glanced at it and saw it was from Noelle with an update and asked if he wanted to come by her office. He was about to text back that he would be there, until he looked at his brother from the corner of his eye. He smirked then texted out a message to her, telling her to meet him at the bar.

He sat his phone down, then made small talk with his younger brother, knowing it wouldn't take her that long to get there since it wasn't far from her job. Anytime Jamie seemed ready to leave, he would quickly ask him another question to stall him. Later, when he saw Noelle's short frame enter the bar, he threw up his hand and waved her over.

Noelle nodded her head at him, then began to walk over toward him, she paused for a minute when she noticed Jamie sitting beside him. She forced a smile on her face when he turned his head and noticed her standing there. She gave him a small wave, then continued to walk over to the brothers.

"Hey." Jamie said to her as he moved his jacket from the stool beside him, offering her a seat.

"Hi." She breathed out, then shook her head, declining the invitation to sit down. She wasn't planning to stay for long. Turning her attention to Danny, she said,"So, do you want the bad news or the bad bad news?"

"You're just full of sunshine today, aren't you, Little Bit?" Danny joked. He took a swallow of his beer, then added,"Start from the bottom and go up."

"Well, first off, your other OD's died from meth and zero M-CAT." Noelle began to say.

"What a world when that's a relief." Danny said.

"Mm-hm." She hummed, feeling Jamie's eyes on her. She tried not to look at him back, but couldn't stop herself from turning her head, her breath catching in her throat when his eyes slammed into hers.

"So, what's next?" Danny asked as he turned to look at her and raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his face when he saw how intensely the two were staring at each other. He cleared his throat, getting their attention, before asking again,"What's next, Little Bit?"

"Oh, uh..." She stuttered, losing her train of thought. She shook her head, finally remembering, then said,"The tox screen showed that the boys died from a lethal dose of potassium chloride."

"I'm not really a science geek." Danny said, waiting for her to explain.

"It's used in fertilizers and water softeners." Noelle explained. "It's not used in recreational drugs."

"They also use it in death row inmates, for lethal injections." Jamie added, causing Danny to look at him, wondering how the hell he knew that. "My three months on the Innocents Project." He explained.

"He's right." Noelle said, pointing at Jamie with a nod. "If there's a high enough concentration of potassium chloride, mixed with the sedative effect of heroin, it can stop a heart like that." She added with a snap of her fingers.

"That Carvell's a real son of a bitch, huh?" Danny said, referring to the drug dealer he arrested earlier.

"That's the bad bad news." Noelle said, getting his attention. "I talked to one of my co-workers, the one who tested the M-CAT that came from Carvell's shop and then I tested the M-CAT from Wayne Foster's sample; it was heroin, Mephedrone and baby laxative. There was no potassium chloride in either sample."

"Great. Carvell told the truth." Danny said with a sigh, knowing that meant he was back to square one. "All right, so we got one packet of M-CAT with potassium chloride. Carvell didn't put it in there- who did?"

Noelle shrugged then said,"Maybe Billy wanted a bigger high and didn't realize the danger of it."

"Maybe someone else did, looking to kill." Jamie added.

"If that's true, we've been coming at this all wrong." Danny said as his phone began to ring.

As he began to speak into the phone, Jamie turned to look at Noelle and continued his previous thought,"If they did, then who was the target? Was it Billy Romano, Alyson, you know, one of the friends, all four of 'em?"

Noelle gave him a small shrug, before saying,"I have no idea. This is where my expertise ends, but if it was me, I would question the girl who survived."

"I'm gonna go ask Alyson now." Danny spoke up as he ended the call. "That was Jackie. Alyson was run down on Riverside Drive, going out for a jog."

Danny stood up from his seat, calling out to the bartender to put the beers on his tab. He gave his brother a pat on his shoulder, then gave Noelle a quick peck on top of her head as he walked past them.

"You buy next time, kid." He said to Jamie, who nodded his head in response.

"Wait, I'll walk out with you." Noelle offered as she went to walk behind the older Reagan, until he came to a stop almost causing her to slam into him.

"You should stay here, finish my beer for me. I'll feel better knowing it didn't go to waste." He said, turning to face her.

"If you stay I'll feed you." Jamie offered, knowing that was the way to her heart. Suddenly his dinner at home with Sydney was quickly forgotten.

"I... I dunno, I should probably get home." She said, hating to turn him down.

"Well, you two figure this out. I gotta go." Danny said, nodding to them.

"So, are you staying or..." Jamie asked as his brother walked out the door.

"Going." Noelle quietly said, wishing she could have said stay. "I'll see you later, Jamie."

Jamie let out a sigh and watched her walk toward the door. He sat still for a moment, then grabbed his jacket and raced out the door behind her. He hated pushing her, but he couldn't handle seeing her walk away from him again.

"Hey, Nol, wait up." He called out as he jogged up behind her.

"Hey." She said as she turned around, surprised to see him chasing after her.

"I'll walk you to your car." He offered.

"You don't have to-"

"I'm going to walk you to your car." He interrupted, not taking no for an answer.

"Okay." She breathed out as she turned and began to walk beside the building, heading for the parking lot in the back.

"Look, I don't mean to be pushy, I just- I think we need to talk." Jamie said as he walked beside her.

"About what? I thought we already talked." Noelle said, playing dumb. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but she didn't think it was a good idea to bring it all up again.

"Yeah, well, I mean, I tried to last night-"

"I was working." She cut him off as they came to a stop by her car.

"I know. I know you're busy with work, but Nol, we need to fix this." He said, reaching out to grab her arm and turning her to face him.

"I didn't realize anything was broken."

"If you think nothing is broken, why are you avoiding me?" He questioned.

"I'm not-"

"You are." He argued. "And if what you said is true, that we're okay and the other night on the porch was no big deal, then what is the reason?" When she didn't answer, he asked,"Is it Sydney?"

"What?" She asked, feeling annoyed. It had already been a long day, between work and the close call with her brother, the last thing she wanted to hear about was his fiancée.

"Look, I'm just trying to figure out what the problem is, and I know you two never really liked each other." He explained. He wasn't blind, he knew how they felt about each other and they only tolerated each other for him. "Is that why you're avoiding me? Because of Sydney?"

"God, Jamie." She sighed and turned away from him to collect her thoughts. Turning back to look at him, she continued,"Did you ever think that maybe it's not anything? We were friends as kids, but then we grew up and sometimes that means growing apart too."

"But that's not us, Noelle." He argued. Remembering what he said to his brother earlier, he added,"We were always more than just friends and you know it. You're family, you're like a sister to me-"

"But I'm not!" She exclaimed. "I'm not your sister, Jamie! And one day you're going to realize that... one day you'll have to stop seeing me that way."

"What does that mean?" Jamie asked confused. When she turned to open her car door, he push it closed, then grabbed her arm to turn her toward him again.

"Why do you make it sound like it's a bad thing that I see you that way? Is it wrong that I care about you? That I don't want to lose you?"

Noelle looked at him for a moment, unsure how to answer his questions.

How do you tell the boy you grew up with that you were in love with him- that you were always in love with him. How do you tell him that you took a job miles away so you wouldn't have to see him and his fiancée together because it hurt like hell. How do you say all of that and keep your dignity and friend?

As she lowered her head, he took a step closer to her, before he quietly said,"Nol, talk to me."

She swallowed hard, then raised her head to look at him. She gave him a tense smile and shook her head,"There's nothing to talk about."

Shaking his head, he laid his hands on either side of her face, cradling it in his hands. His eyes roamed over her features, taking her all in as he softly said,"There's something..."

Caressed her cheek with his thumb, he continued,"There is something, Nol."

"Jamie..." She breathed out, but before she could say anything else, he shushed her as he leaned closer to her, lightly rubbing his nose against hers. He knew he was stepping into dangerous territory, but he couldn't stop himself from wanting to be close to her.

He slid a hand to the back of her neck, intertwining his fingers in her dark hair, then pulled back to look at her. When he saw her nervously bite her bottom lip, he couldn't stop his eyes from staring at them.

He remembered all those years ago when he kissed her on her birthday. It was a first for the both of them, neither one really knew what they were doing, but he always remembered it was a sweet and nice kiss. Then he thought of the other day, when his lips accidentally touched hers, it was quick but it affected him for hours. He knew he shouldn't be thinking it, but he couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like if he actually kissed her, more than a quick second and with a little more experience on his side now.

As soon as those thoughts crossed his mind, he quickly pushed them out, and took a step back from her in guilt. He shouldn't have done that, it wasn't fair to Sydney and it wasn't fair to Noelle. He shook his head and quickly apologized to her.

"It's okay." Noelle mumbled as she turned to open the car door. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she wasn't okay with it.

She slammed the door shut, then spun around to say,"On second thought, no... It's not okay, Jamie. You want the truth? You want to know why I'm avoiding you... this is why."

When she saw him open his mouth, she quickly cut him off,"This isn't right and this isn't fair! You are with someone, Jamie, you are _freaking_ engaged!"

"I know. I know, you're right, I'm sorry." He softly said, slipped his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out to her. "Maybe... I dunno, maybe we-"

"Maybe we need a break." She said, cutting him off.

"What?" He asked surprised. "You mean no talking? No hanging out?"

"No, we still can, just- we can cut back. It just- It can't be like before with us." She explained. "Like I said, we're not kids anymore, Jamie. We grew up and things changed."

"You're still my best friend, Nol. That'll never change."

"And you're mine." She softly said back with a tight smile, knowing that was all she would ever be to him. "Always." She added, her voice barely above a whisper.

Without another word, she turned to leave until she heard him say,"I'm sorry. If I hurt you in any way, I'm sorry, Nol. You know I would never intentionally hurt you-"

"I know." She interrupted with a nod as she turned back around. "It's not your fault, it's..." Her voice trailed off when she realized whose fault it was... it was her own. For putting herself in those situations and enjoying it, she should have known better. She should have kept her distance from the beginning.

Realizing he was waiting for her to finish, she added,"It's no one's fault. Because nothing happened, remember?"

"Nol-"

"Thanks for walking me to my car. I'll see you later, Jamie." She said as she gave him a quick hug, then turned away.

She opened the car door and slide behind the wheel. She glanced over at him for a moment, seeing that he was watching her. He wanted to stop her, every part of him wanting to stop her, but he couldn't move. He hated it, this wasn't what he wanted, but he had to respect her wishes. He felt like he had already hurt her and confused her enough lately, the least he could do was just let her go for now.

She gave him a small wave, before pulling out the parking lot, putting as much distance between them as she could, but no matter how far she drove, the heartache was still present and she knew for a fact it would never go away.

•••

 _A/N; These two are gonna kill me! On the bright side, at least Sydney will be gone very soon- like hopefully next chapter soon lol. So you all got to meet big brother Baylor, but will he actually stay around or leave again?_

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to jlmayer, Eddie Reagan, werks, Guest, SweetKittyCat, Daniel Reagan, QueensGambit, BLBLF, BlueBlood82, mcgeeksgirl, lilnightmare17, Guest, BrookeErinMelton, Brooklyn Knight and samantha572 for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	7. It's A Nightmare

**07; It's A Nightmare**

Noelle let out a groan as she dreamed of running. She didn't know where she was- she could barely see in front of her, much less around her since it was pitch dark, but she knew she was running from something. She could feel the presence of someone following her and quickly closing in.

She tossed and turned in the bed, letting out a cry when the dark presence revealed itself to being Jimmie. She could hear him screaming out her name, telling her she couldn't run from him. He even began to sing out, 'I'm gonna catch you, I'm gonna find you'- like he did when she was trying to get away from him in the house.

When she felt someone touch her arm, she snapped her eyes open with a gasp and sat up in bed. She wrapped her arms around herself, her breathing labored as she told herself it was only a dream. She ran a hand up and down her arm, feeling a chill down her spine. Her room felt heavy and she felt like she couldn't catch her breath.

She tossed her comforter aside and stood up from the bed, running a hand through her brown hair as she walked over to the window. She pushed the window up and leaned against the windowsill, looking out at the fire escape outside the window.

The fire escape was the only downside to her apartment, she hated having one outside her bedroom window, she was too paranoid of someone climbing up to her window and breaking in, but the apartment was affordable and ready to move in, so she took it and just made sure to keep the window locked and the blinds closed.

As she stared out into the dark night and took a deep breath of the fresh air, she tried to remember exactly what it was that woke her up. The nightmare was terrifying and at one point she thought someone had grabbed her arm, but as she was coming to, she also remembered hearing a noise. It was low and sounded far off, a small click noise, like a door being pulled to and the doorknob clicking.

When that thought hit her, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, suddenly she didn't feel so alone in her apartment.

With a pounding heart, she rushed over to the bedside table and scooped up the can of pepper spray, then made her way out of the bedroom and into the small hallway. She kept the can out in front of her as she tip toed down the hall, getting closer to the living room.

As soon as she made it into the room, the rushed over to the windows, her eyes scanning the room as she reached out to make sure they were locked. After seeing that they were, she then ran over to the door to check all the locks. When she saw that the door was locked up tight, she turned and fell back against it and took in a shaky breath, willing herself to calm down. The bad dream must have played with her mind and made her paranoid.

She pressed the heel of her hands against her eyes, holding back the tears, as she let out a bitter chuckle. Would there ever come a time where she could get a full night of sleep without nightmares? Would there ever be a time where she could stop thinking someone had been in her apartment? Would there ever come a time where she would stop being scared for her life?

Feeling her heart rate slow down, she dropped her hands, then pushed off of the door to walk away, until her eyes landed on the small table by the door. She froze, feeling her breath catch in her throat, when she saw the snow globe Jamie had giving her years ago sitting on the table.

She turned her head to look at the table beside the couch, remembering when she had placed it there days ago. Feeling a familiar sense of dread, she dropped the pepper spray and ran into the kitchen, jerking the cabinet doors open, her eyes scanning the small amount of food she had purchased recently. It made her feel a little better to see that the cans were not facing forward or neatly stacked beside each other.

She slammed the doors shut, then ran into the bathroom, just needing to make sure nothing was neatly organized in there too. She opened the door to a cabinet she stored her towels in and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the towels were not grouped by color. She went over to the sink and jerked the door open, glad to see her toiletries were out of order and disorganized.

She shut the door, then collapsed on the floor, leaning against the wall. She pulled her legs up and rested her elbows on them as she ran her hands through her hair. She gripped her hair and dropped her head as tears filled her eyes. For one heart stopping moment she thought it could be happening again. For a moment it was like she was back in Florida, she felt violated all over again after discovering Jimmie had broken into her apartment.

He did it numerous of times, it started small, just noticing a figurine being misplaced or a picture frame moved slightly. Then he began to rearrange things, he would line all of her can food up with the label facing out. He would place her towels and hand towels by color. He had even went into her bedroom and moved her clothes around, then there was the time she found her underwear drawer organized, that really made her feel sick to her stomach.

"He's not here." She whispered to herself. "You're safe. You are safe."

She mumbled the mantra to herself over and over until she felt a little bit more calm, then she pulled herself from the floor. She dragged herself out into the hallway, then went into her bedroom, and sank down onto the bed.

She reached out to grab her cell phone from the table and stared down at it as she debated on making a call. She knew who she wanted to call, she wanted to hear the voice that always made her feel safe, but felt like she would sound like a hypocrite if she told Jamie one day they needed to take a break then calling him the next.

She blew out a breath, then unlocked her phone and clicked on a name in her contacts. She might not be able to call her best friend, but there someone else she could call. She placed the phone against her ear before she could talk herself out of making the call. She was about to hang up until she heard the phone click, followed by his sleepy, groggy voice on the other end.

"Detective Hayes."

"Hi." Noelle softly said, causing his eyes to snap open.

Spencer glanced over at the alarm clock by the bed, seeing that it was a little after four in the morning, then turned his attention back to the phone. "Elle, is everything okay?"

"I... I don't-" She paused for a moment, realizing how frazzled she probably sounded. She blew out a breath, then shook her head,"Yeah, I'm-I'm fine. I don't know why I even called-"

"Don't do that, Elle." He interrupted her. "You know why you called... There was a reason for it, so what was it? Was it nightmares again?"

"Yeah." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. As tears filled her eyes, she reached up to wipe them away, before saying,"And then when I woke up, I thought... I thought I heard the front door close and it just felt like I wasn't alone anymore. It felt like the times there, when I would come home and there was this heaviness in the air, like someone had been there. It felt like Jimmie was back."

"Shit." Spencer silent cursed to himself as he sat in his bed. He ran a hand through his short brown hair, wishing there was a better way he could comfort her- he wish there was a way he could prove to her that she was safe now.

"Elle, sweetheart, I promise you, he's not there. He's not in New York, he's locked up in a mental institute here."

"Are-Are you sure, Spence?" She asked tearfully.

"I'm sure, I took him to the place myself." He said back, hoping that thought brought her comfort. "It was just a bad dream. You went through a horrible ordeal and it takes time to heal from that. It's natural you're going to keep reliving it."

"I guess you're right."

"Let me ask you something; was anything misplaced or moved? Were your cabinets organized or any of the other rooms messed with?" He asked.

"No, the kitchen and bathroom was fine." She answered. "But... but there was one thing. It was small, but a snow globe was moved from one table to another one in the living room. And you know that is how it started, Spence."

"Yeah, but by the end, he has escalated, right?" He reminded her. "Are you sure you didn't move the globe and just forgot?"

"I-I guess it's possible." She softly said as she thought about it. Could she have moved it? She wasn't getting much sleep and most of the time she was running on autopilot. She could have picked it up to look at it, then just sat it down by the door on her way out. That was possible, right?

"How much sleep are you getting, Elle?"

"A few hours here and there." She admitted.

He blew out a sigh and leaned back against the bed frame. "You need more than that." He was silent for a moment, then asked,"Would it help if I stayed on the other end?"

"Seriously? You would do that?" She questioned surprised.

"Would it help?" He asked back.

She shrugged her shoulders, then realizing he couldn't see her, she said,"I don't know."

"Lay down, Elle. Close your eyes and if you get scared, I'm right here, okay?"

"Okay." She whispered as she did what he said, at least the first part. Once she was laid out comfortably on the bed, she put the phone on speaker than laid it beside her head on the pillow. She tried to close her eyes, then felt a little ridiculous keeping him on the other line. She let out a breathy chuckle, before saying,"You really don't have to stay on the phone with me."

"I don't mind." Spencer said as he shifted down to lay out on the mattress, but kept the phone pressed against his ear.

"Well at least say something." Noelle said laughing. "The silence is getting to me."

"What do you want me to say?" He asked with a laugh of his own.

"I dunno... tell me a story."

"Okay, uh... how about I tell you the story about this girl who came into the precinct."

"Do I really want to hear this story?" She asked with a chuckle, knowing it was about her. She could only imagine what his first impression was of her back then.

"Yeah, it's not a bad story." He said. "See, there was this beautiful girl who came into the precinct. She needed help so she came up to this incredibly handsome detective, he was a bit of an ass, but very handsome."

"You weren't an ass, Spence." She corrected him.

"I never said this story was about me." He joked. "And I also couldn't help but notice that you didn't argue about the handsome part." He smiled when he heard her chuckle on the other end.

"Anyways, back to the story. She came in looking for help, but that fool of a detective brushed her off. He already had enough cases and wasn't in the mood to hear- what he thought, was nothing but a crazy claim. And from that moment on, he never forgave himself.

"'Cause see, there was a part of him that believed her that day, but with no solid proof of anything, he had to dismiss her, but in his gut he knew something was wrong."

Noelle was silent on the other end as he quietly said,"Elle, I'm so sorry."

"Spencer, you don't have to apologize-"

"Yeah, I do." He interrupted. "And I'll keep apologizing to you until my last breath because none of that should have ever happened to you. If I would have listened to you and listened to my gut, it never would have happened."

"We don't know that. He still could have got to me-"

"No." He cut her off. "Because I would have protected you with my life. He never would have laid a finger on you, Elle."

"At least you found me in the end and you saved me." She pointed out. If he wouldn't have found her when he did, she would have bled out on that basement floor.

"You saved yourself." He argued. "You never stopped fighting and you never gave up. You're a freaking warrior, Elle."

She smiled at his words and closed her eyes, beginning to feel sleepy. He couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face when he heard her take a deep breath, then slowly release it, sounding a lot more calm than when she first called him.

When he heard her even breathing and knew she was asleep, he began to softly speak again, knowing she wouldn't hear him.

"There's another reason that handsome detective was a fool. It's 'cause he never made a move on that beautiful girl when he had the chance. He told himself it was bad timing because of everything she was going through, but deep down, he knew it was because it would be pointless."

He paused for a moment, before adding,"'Cause you see, that beautiful girl, she was clearly in love with someone else and the handsome detective never stood a chance."

•••

Hours later, Noelle slowly began to wake up. She kept her eyes closed and stretched, a little moan escaping her lips. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she heard, what she would describe as 'office' noises; the sound of ringing phones, muffled voices and the shuffle of papers.

Cracking an eye open, she noticed her phone laying beside her head and the call still going. Picking up the phone, she took it off speaker and placed it against her ear as she said,"Spence?"

She called out his name a few more times, before he finally heard it. He scooped the phone from his desk, he had placed it there after he arrived at work, in case she woke up and needed him. He got a lot of strange looks about it from his colleagues, but he didn't care.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. You finally decided to join the land of the living?" Spencer joked as he placed the phone against his ear.

"Yeah. I guess so." Noelle breathed out with a laugh. She glanced at the alarm clock by the bed, seeing that it was after eight in the morning, at least she got about four hours of sleep, which was an improvement. Turning her attention back to the phone, she added,"I can't believe you actually stayed on the line this long."

"I told you I would." He said, leaning back in the desk chair.

"Yeah, but you're at work now, right?" She questioned, assuming that was the noise she had heard over the phone when she woke up. When he responded, letting her know she was right, he was at work, she added,"I hope I didn't distract you."

"No, it was fine." He said back. "Well, I mean, the snoring was a little distracting, but I pushed through."

"I do not snore!" She argued with a laugh.

"You do, but it's a cute snore, and only a few of my colleagues overheard." He joked. He smiled when he heard her let out a laugh at his comment. He lifted his head and saw his boss looking at him, causing him to sit up and clear his throat, before saying,"Hey, look, I should get going. My sergeant is staring at me."

"Okay, well, uh, thank you." She said. "Thank you for listening to my crazy rantings last night. Maybe you're right. Maybe I did move it and then the nightmare just set me off."

"Your rantings are never crazy. After what happened, it's understandable, but you don't have to worry, Elle." He said, hoping she'll really hear his words. "Everything is okay. You don't have to be scared anymore, you can start to heal."

"Thanks, Spence." She softly said with a smile.

"Take care, Elle." He said, ending the call.

He stood up from his desk, seeing his boss motion for him. As a thought hit him, he held up his finger, telling him to wait a minute, then picked up the phone on his desk.

He called the mental institute Jimmie was being held. Unfortunately, the woman in charge wasn't in, but he left a message for her to call him back.

He knew what the answer to his question would be, he knew she would tell him that Jimmie was there, but he figured if he got that information, then passed it along to Noelle it would help put her mind at ease. Then she could finally start to get her life back.

•••

After hanging up with Spencer, Noelle grabbed a pair of purple colored jeans and a light grey t-shirt then took a quick shower. She didn't have to worry about dressing up today since she had taken the day off. She took the day off since it was the day her brother was being released from the hospital.

They had kept him a couple of extra days and she had visited him each day. She stopped by before work, bringing him breakfast and showing him a couple of places she had found for him to go to for help. She usually stopped by after work as well and spent a couple of hours with him.

He appreciated the visits, but he had a feeling they were more about her avoiding someone and staying busy then visiting. He didn't argue with her though, he really had no business judging any of her life choices.

Minutes later, after she was dressed, she threw her brown hair up in a messy bun, then headed for the front door. She paused for a moment, looking down at the snow globe and wished she could remember if she did really move it or not.

It had to be her, right?

Grabbing the globe, she walked over to the couch and sat it down on the table before leaving the apartment. As she drove down the road, she kept the radio turned down low, not really hearing it as she drove to the hospital- all she could think about was all the things she needed to do that day to make her brother comfortable.

The plan was to take him out for breakfast, then she figured she would take him by the store to pick up some of his favorite snacks and maybe even rent some movies. She figured his first day or two he could stay with her, then they would work on finding him the perfect place to get the help he needed.

Before leaving earlier, she made sure to make up the couch in case he wanted to rest as soon as they got to the apartment. She had also cleared her place of alcohol. She didn't drink often, but had some beers and a bottle of liquor for the really bad days. She also made sure to hide anything valuable.

Seeing the hospital up ahead, she blew out a nervous breath. As much as she wanted to help her brother, she had to admit it made her nervous because she knew it wasn't going to be easy. After parking the car, she made her way inside and smiled at a couple of the nurses she had seen the last couple of days.

Coming to a stop in front of the door, she lightly tapped then pushed it open to walk inside. Her face fell when she was met with an empty room. Walking over to the private bathroom, she knocked then slowly opening it when no one answered and found it empty as well.

Thinking maybe he could be with the doctor running test, she went back into the hall to look for a nurse.

"Hey, I was looking for my brother, Baylor Kelley, is he having any test done this morning?"

"No, he was released earlier." The nurse said.

"How long ago?" Noelle questioned.

"About an hour." The nurse answered. "We offered to call someone for him, but he said he already had a ride."

Blowing out a breath, she looked away for a moment, the last little bit of hope she had was gone. Looking back at the nurse, she asked,"Did you see who picked him up?"

"No I didn't, I'm sorry." She said with an apologetic smile. "Maybe it was a friend? You should try to give him a call." She suggested.

"Thanks, yeah, I'll try that." Noelle lied as she thanked her for her help before letting her get back to work. She knew it would do no good to call him. He would do like he always did- ignore her until he needed something.

She had worried that he would do this, that he would do what he always did and go into hiding, but she had hoped the close call would have been his wake up call, but now he was out there somewhere and she had no idea when or if she would see him again.

Feeling disappointed, she turned and made her way back down the hall. She walked past an empty nurses station, seeing a newspaper laying on the top counter, the headline - _Top Cop Son Chases Gangster Into Fatal Crash_ \- causing her to pause for a moment.

She grabbed the paper, her eyes scanning over the article and saw it was about Jamie. He had come upon a kidnapping attempt and when the perp ran away, he ran into traffic and was hit by a car. Now all eyes were on Jamie, wondering how true his story was since no witnesses were coming forward.

She tossed the paper back down on the counter, then rushed out the first door she came to. She reached into her bag, pulling out her cell phone, then without even thinking about it called his number.

It rang a few times, then as she slide behind the wheel of her car, he finally answered on the other end.

"Hey, how's it going?" Noelle asked before he could say a word.

Jamie blew out a breath, before saying,"You heard what happened, huh?"

"Yeah, I just saw it in the papers. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be a lot better if a witness will come forward and corroborate my story." He said. "Until then IA is all over me."

"I'm sorry, Jamie." She softly said as she laid her head back against the headrest, wishing there was something she could do to help him.

"Thanks, Nol." He said back, pressing the phone closer to his ear. He didn't realize how much he had missed her voice until this moment or how much it meant to hear from her at a time he needed her the most. He didn't want the call to end, but he knew it had to since he was at work. He wasn't ready to let her go though, causing him to say,"Hey, I can't really talk right now, but my break is in about an hour. Can you take your lunch break then?"

"Yeah." She said. "I mean, I took the day off, so I can take lunch whenever." She added with a small laugh.

"What's going on today?" He questioned, knowing she really didn't request certain days off unless something was going on.

"It's a long story." She said with a sigh.

"You can tell me in an hour." He said. "Meet me at that burger joint near your house?"

"I'll be there." She said, causing him to smile. It had only been a few days since he last saw her, but he was looking forward to seeing her again. Being around her had always had a calming effect over him and with the way things were going lately, he needed that.

"Thanks, Nol. I'll see you then." He said before ending the call and getting back to work. Now he just had to wait a few hours, then he could talk to his best friend and tell his side of the story. He knew he had other people who were on his side and believed him, but it would feel nice to have another person on his side and he knew she always would be.

•••

Close to an hour later, Jamie walked into the restaurant the two had planned to meet. He saw her toward the back sitting in a booth, she was facing the door with her back against the wall.

He didn't know she had showed up a little earlier to find the best booth; one where she could be facing all entrances with no chance of anyone sneaking up behind her. It's a habit she developed after what happened to her in Florida, she never wanted to be caught off guard again.

He smiled at her from across the room, then removed the cap from his head and began to walk over toward her. As he sat across from her, he saw her holding back a laugh, causing him to tilt his head to the side as he asked her what was funny.

"You didn't notice those girls near the door?" Noelle questioned as she nodded over toward their table. When he shook his head, she added,"As soon as you walked in all their eyes were on you."

"Oh." Jamie said, glancing over his shoulder to look at the teenage girls, causing them to let out a squeal before they all began to giggle and talk in a hushed animated tone.

When he turned his head back, he noticed she was looking at him with a smile on her face that caused his stomach to flip-flop. She shook her head, then said,"You seriously don't notice the way women check you out, do you? It just doesn't even phase you."

"I guess not." He shrugged as he glanced back over at the group of girls, setting them off in a fit of giggles again.

"You're one of the good ones, Jamie." She said, getting his attention. As he turned his head to look at her, she added,"That's rare."

"I don't feel like one of the good ones lately." He sighed as he dropped his head for a moment and ran his hand through his hair.

"Hey..." She softly said as she reached out to lay a hand on top of his other hand, which was resting on top of the table. "You'll get through this. You didn't do anything wrong and they're going to see that."

"The way some are acting it's making me feel like I did do something wrong." He said, raising his head to look at her. "I'm starting to wonder if I did the right thing."

"You did." She softly said as she squeezed his hand. "Don't doubt yourself, Jamie, don't ever do that. You followed your heart and your instincts, that's what makes you a good cop. It's what makes you a good person."

"Thanks, Nol." He said with a genuine smile on his face.

"You don't have to thank me, Jams. I'm just being honest." She said, giving his hand another squeeze then began to pull it away, until he quickly reached out and grabbed it to stop her.

He folded his hand over hers, holding her small one in his as he said,"I'm not just thanking you for that, but also for calling me and for being here now. But most importantly, thank you for not asking."

"Not asking what?"

"Not asking what happened." Jamie said. "You're about the first one who hasn't. You're not looking at me like you want answers, you're just here for me. You believe me, no matter what."

She felt goosebumps pop up on her skin as he softly ran his thumb over the back of her hand. Realizing moments like this was why she suggested they take a break, she flashed him a small smile, then pulled her hand back, placing them both in her lap under the table.

"That's what friends are for. I don't have to ask because I know whatever happened, you had good intentions. You were just trying to do the right thing and an accident happened, but that's not your fault."

"It's good to have you back in my life, Nol." He said, smiling at her. "Especially since things are so confusing lately." He softly admitted, thinking about the real reason he was in Chinatown the other night.

Recently he was approached by the FBI and learned that his brother, Joe, was working for them to investigate an organization within the department called the 'Blue Templar'. The FBI claims it was a group of dirty cops in the organization that was actually responsible for his brother's death.

He wasn't too sure what to think about it until he found a recording the other day in a box of his brother's belongs. He didn't want to work with the FBI though, he wanted to investigate it on his own, which is what he told the FBI agent the other night before all hell broke loose.

"Yeah, but, like I said, everything will be okay. IA will see the truth and this whole thing will go away." Noelle said, thinking he was talking about the case against him.

"I wasn't talking about that."

"Then what were you talking about?" She questioned. When she saw him start to tap his fingers on the table, she knew he was debating with himself if he should tell her what was on his mind.

It was something he did often when they were younger. If he had ever overheard something or had a secret to share, he had to think about it first. He always wanted to make sure it wouldn't hurt her feelings somehow or get her in trouble, he was always protective of her first and foremost.

"Jamie, what is going on?" She asked with a concern look the longer he remained quiet.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, a waitress walked over to them with their food, taking them both by surprised. She explained to him that she had already ordered for them before he got there, something she had honestly forgot about after he arrived.

He didn't mind her ordering for him, he also didn't mind the interruption. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her about the Templar investigation, he was just worried about putting her in danger. His brother's death was proof that they would do whatever to keep their secrets hidden.

After their food was placed in front of them, and they thanked the waitress, the next few minutes were spent getting their burgers the way they wanted them.

Jamie grabbed the bottle of ketchup from the table, squeezing more on the patty of meat. He had always loved extra ketchup, but no matter how many times he ordered it that way, they still never gave him enough.

While he did that, she reached over to grab the slice of tomato and onions from his bun and placed it on hers. He wasn't a fan of either, but knew she loved extra, so he still got it on his every time, knowing she would take it, just like she would order pickles on hers, knowing he would take them and this time was no different.

He took a bite of his burger, then tried not to laugh when he saw her take a huge bite from hers, then shoved in an onion ring right after. When she shot him a look, wondering what he was laughing at, he swallowed his food, then joked,"You're not hungry are you?"

"Shut up." She mumbled as she picked up a chicken nugget- something else she had ordered for herself. She pointed the nugget at him before adding,"Don't judge. I had a long morning."

"You never did tell me why you took today off." He said, reaching over to grab one of the nuggets, causing her to slap his hand. The two went back and forth a few times before he was finally able to steal one.

"Compared to what you are going through, it's not that big of a deal." She said, a sad look appeared on her face.

"If bothers you, then it is a big deal." He argued with a shake of the head. "What's going on, Nol?"

"I got a call from the hospital the other day..." She softly said as she sat down her food. "Baylor was admitted because of a drug overdose."

"Wow, Nol, I'm sorry." Jamie said as he fell back against his seat. "Is he okay?"

"He is... or at least he was." Noelle answered. "But right now, in this moment, I don't know what he is because he's gone." She ran a hand through her hair, the situation suddenly hitting her hard. "I thought I had lost him, Jamie. When I first got that call, I thought this was it... the call I have been dreading for years."

As tears filled her eyes, he reached out to take her hand, hoping to comfort her. She barely noticed it as she continued,"I felt like I couldn't breathe until I walked in that room and saw him. I had visited him every morning and every evening after work and I thought this was really it, you know? I thought he had finally hit rock bottom and got to that point where he was ready to come home. I thought I was finally getting my brother back, but I showed up this morning to pick him up..."

"And he was gone." Jamie softly finished for her when her voice trailed off. He didn't have to be there to know what happened, this was what Baylor did every time. This wasn't the first time he got his sister's hopes up, only to crush them in the end.

He tightened his hold on her hand as he offered,"I can try to find him-"

"You don't have to do that." She cut him off with a shake of her head. "I can't keep doing this, you know? I can't keep trying to help him, when he clearly doesn't want it." A thought she didn't say out loud was, she couldn't keep getting her hopes up only to be crushed in the end.

A chuckle escape his lips as he gave her a small smile,"We both know you are not going to give up, Nol."

Looking over at him, she opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off,"As much as I hate how it hurts you every time he lets you down, I also love how you never give up. You care too much sometimes, which isn't a bad thing, that's just who you are. You have a big heart."

"Yeah, well, this big heart is a little broken right now." She mumbled as her eyes dropped down to the table. She kept her eyes down, even when she felt him raise her hand from the table, but when she felt something soft and warm press against the inside of her wrist, her eyes widen when she looked up and saw he had his lips pressed against her skin.

She breathed out his name, her breathing labored as she felt a fluttering in her stomach. Realizing what he was doing, Jamie apologized and lowered her hand back down, placing it on the table. He had never planned to do that, he just wanted to comfort her when he saw how upset she was, and like many other times lately, he just got caught up in the moment.

Before either one could say anything, the waitress came back over to their table, wondering if they needed anything. Noelle tore her eyes away from Jamie to look up at the young girl and asking her for the check. As she nodded her head and walked off, she turned back to look at Jamie, seeing the question on his face.

"I have some things to do today." She lied, explaining why she was cutting their lunch short, he knew she wasn't being truthful though. He knew she was just trying to slip away because he screwed up again. He took things too far and stepped over the line between friends and more, which was wrong since he wasn't single.

He loved his fiancée, he really did, but ever since Noelle came back into his life, the feelings he ignored since he was a kid came rushing back. He was distracted, he was confused and had no idea what to do.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice she had already paid for their meal and stood up from the booth. But as she spoke to him, telling him she would talk to him later, he snapped to attention and opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off to tell him bye, then began to walk out of the building.

He grabbed his cap from beside him, then quickly stood up to follow along behind her. He felt like he was chasing her a lot lately, but it was because he had no intentions of losing her. He reached out to grab her arm, asking her to wait a minute.

"Don't worry, Jamie. Everything's going to be okay." Noelle said vaguely, making him wonder if she meant everything with them, the case against him or both. As if to answer his thought, she added,"Keep me updating on the case, okay? And if you need to vent or talk, I'm here."

As he nodded his head, she gave him a small smile, then turned to walk away, until he softly said her name, the tone of his voice causing her to come to a stop and turn to face him. He didn't say anything as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

She froze for a moment, then couldn't stop herself from melting against him and slipping her arms around him.

There was so much he wanted to say to her. He wanted to apologize for screwing up so much with her lately, he wanted her to know how badly he didn't want to lose her, he wanted to confess to all of his confusing thoughts and get things figured out, but he didn't say anything like that, instead he just held her close.

With the way things have been going between them lately, he wasn't sure how many more moments like this he would have with her, so he wanted to take advantage of it for as long as he could. Besides with the way their days have been, he felt like it was something they both needed.

•••

 _A/N; Hey all, sorry I haven't updated sooner. I've had some internet problems lately which has been annoying.  
_

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to lilnightmare17, jlmayer, Daniel Reagan, RyeBreadQueen, werks, Guest, BLBLF, BrookeErinMelton, samantha572, mcgeeksgirl and QueensGambit for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	8. Late Night Confessions

**08; Late Night Confessions**

Next morning, before heading into work, Noelle made another stop first; the 54th Precinct. She walked into the building, wrapping her arms around herself and pulling the dark-colored blazer tighter when a blast of cold air hit when she had opened the door.

As she got closer to Danny's desk, she noticed it was empty, causing her to let out a sigh and her shoulders to drop in disappointment. She stood by it and glanced around for a moment to look for him, but saw his partner, Jackie, instead, causing her to flash her a quick smile and a wave.

Jackie ended her conversation with a fellow officer, then made her way over toward Noelle, calling out a friendly greeting, before saying,"I take it you're here for Danny?"

"Yeah, is he in?" Noelle questioned.

"Yeah, he's in the middle of something though." Jackie answered as she nodded her head toward the interrogation room. "He's talking to the driver."

"Wait, the driver?" Noelle asked as she looked away from the windows of the room to Jackie. "You mean the driver Jamie saw? That's him?"

"He IDed him." Jackie said with a nod.

Noelle looked over at the windows again, seeing Danny yelling at the man sitting at the table, then blew out a breath, before saying,"I wish this meant this was all over for Jamie, but criminals tend to not fess up."

"No, they don't." Jackie said, agreeing with her. "It would make our jobs a lot easier if they did."

"And probably keep Danny out of trouble." Noelle joked, knowing how hot-headed he is. He was constantly pushing it as far as he could to get the answers he needed.

"Yeah, like that would happen." Jackie said with a laugh. "Let me ask you something... was he always like this?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Noelle nodded. With a laugh, she added,"The stories I could tell you."

"Oh, story time!" Jackie said excitedly as she sat down at her desk. "Lay 'em on me."

Noelle let out a laugh as she sat down in Danny's desk chair, then began to tell her some stories from their past. She was in the middle of telling the cast iron story, when Danny walked out of the interrogation room with an annoyed look on his face.

He couldn't get anything out of the prep and time was running out to question him since his sister dropped by the day before and told him he had to cut the man loose.

As Danny walked closer to his desk, he saw his partner leaned back in her chair talking to someone, but couldn't see who it was at first since he didn't have a clear shot of his desk yet. When Jackie saw him getting closer, she nodded toward Noelle, then said,"Hey, hardhead, you got another visitor."

He came to a stop at his desk, finally seeing the brunette sitting in his chair. Between seeing her and the nickname his partner gave him, he knew that meant Noelle had told her about hitting him in the head. He looked over at Jackie as he said,"She told you, huh?"

"You mean about being hit in the head with a frying pan then crying like a little girl?" Jackie asked, then added,"Yeah, she told me."

"It wasn't a frying pan, it was a cast iron skillet." Danny corrected.

"Either way, you cried." Jackie joked as she stood up from her chair. "Anything else make you cry other than pans and E. T?" She asked, referring to when his sister had visited and spilled the beans about him getting teary-eyed during the movie.

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here." Danny said back, causing her to laugh as she walked away to get back to working on the case.

After she was gone, Danny turned his attention to Noelle, motioning for her to get out of his seat. After she stood up, he blew out a breath as he sat down in the chair. He didn't even have to ask why she was there, causing him to say,"I take it you know."

"Yeah, I had lunch with Jamie yesterday." She said, leaning against his desk, her arms folded across her chest. She looked over toward the interrogation room, then nodded toward it as she said,"So that's the guy, huh? The one Jamie saw?"

"He says it is and I believe him." He answered. "But, I got to let him go."

"What? Why?" She asked with wide eyes as she snapped her head back to look at him.

"Blame Erin." He began to say, leaning back in his chair. He was still a little bitter that she had showed up and put a kink in his plan. "Even though Jamie says he had a gun, when I arrest him, he didn't. Her office isn't going to prosecute it."

She blew out a breath and ran her hand through her hair. "God, I hate it when Erin is right." She said, sitting on top of his desk. Deep down she knew that was the right way to do it. It would be hard to convict someone on a gun charge when there was no gun present.

"You and me both." Danny mumbled as he laid a hand on her side to push her over a bit so he could grab a file she was half sitting on.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Noelle asked with a worried look on her face.

He shook his head, until a thought hit him, and he sat up in his chair. "Actually, maybe there is. Last I checked, no one at your office has done the autopsy on his partner Lee yet. Maybe you can-"

"Done." She interrupted. "As soon as I get to work, I'll talk to my boss and get right on it."

"I dunno if it'll uncover any clues, but..."

"If there are any, I'll find 'em." She said confidently.

"I know you will." He said with a nod. He knew she was good at her job, but since this involved Jamie, he knew she would give it her all and not give up on it.

When a silence fell between them, he leaned back in his chair again and watched her staring straight ahead as if in a daze, her mind running a mile a minute, while she nervously swung her legs around.

"So how are you doing?" He questioned, causing her to turn her head to the side to look at him. She was curious on what prompted the question. Was he just asking in general or was he referring to something?

Seeing that she was waiting for an explanation, he added,"With the whole Baylor thing."

"Jamie told you about that?" She questioned, assuming that is how he heard.

Danny nodded his head,"Yeah, but I also have eyes and ears out there when it comes to him."

"Really?" She asked surprised to hear that.

"Yeah." He answered with a short nod. "Did you know I busted him once?"

"No, I never knew that."

"I've only been on the force for a few years, when I caught him dealing." He began to say. "He swore that was the first time he ever did anything like that and he would never do it again. He claimed it scared him straight and I believed him." With a shrug, he added,"I made the mistake of looking at him like that kid I taught to shoot a basket and I let that incident slide, thinking I was giving him a second chance, but we all know how that worked out."

"No matter what you did, he would still be the way he is now, Danny." She said, seeing the guilt on his face and knew he was blaming himself for a past mistake. It made her wonder if that was why he was so hard now, refusing to let anyone slip through the cracks, he didn't want to make another mistake like that again.

"I've tried to help him more times than I can count, but it does no good since he's not ready to help himself." She added. "So no matter what I do, in the end, he just keeps slipping away and I lose him all over again. I honestly don't know what to do anymore."

"You keep trying, you don't give up. That's what you do for family." He stated, the clock on the wall caught his attention. He let out a silent sigh when he realized his time was up, he had to release Nelson Chiu.

He wasn't going to let that stop him though, he just had to find another way to solve the case, like he told her; you don't give up on family. Plus he had a feeling Jamie had stumbled onto something big and he was going to find out what.

Seeing him looking at the time, she realized she needed to get to work. She jumped off of the desk, telling him she would keep him updated about the autopsy and asked him to keep her updated on his findings as well, which he promised he would do.

She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, there was something she had to ask, a fear that has been on her mind since all of this started for Jamie. Turning back to face him, she began to nervously play with her fingers as she quietly asked,"How bad can it get for him?"

"Don't let your mind wander there, Little Bit." He said as he shook his head and stood up from his desk. He was just as worried about his brother as she was. He knew what Jamie said was true, he believed him, but if they couldn't prove that, then he could end up in some serious trouble.

"We're gonna solve this before it does go bad." He added, hoping to ease her mind as well as his own.

She nodded her head, knowing he right, or at least she hoped he was. She didn't want to think about things going south and Jamie losing his job, she knew that would destroy him.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but Danny cut her off, telling her to just go to work. The sooner she finished the autopsy, the sooner they could move forward with the investigation.

He didn't mean to be pushy with her, he knew how worried she was for Jamie, but standing around worrying and trading what ifs wasn't going to solve anything, and deep down she knew that- she knew he was right.

Noelle gave him a small smile, then without another word, turned and began to walk away. She had a job to do, a very important one, and she wasn't going to give up until she found something.

The body of Grant Lee had a story to tell, and she was going to find out what that story was.

•••

After a long day of autopsies, paperwork and running other kind of test, Noelle grabbed her bag and left her office. The first thing she did when she showed up at work was do the autopsy for Grant Lee. When she saw fresh bloods on him, she quickly tested that and discovered it wasn't his blood. She didn't have proof that it was Ming-Tai, the woman Jamie saved from being kidnapped, but it was a female's so it was likely it was hers.

Another big discover; whoever's blood it was, the woman was pregnant and in her third trimester. She quickly called Danny to pass along the message, giving him a new angle to investigate. As the day went on, more clues were popping up, but the players involved were still not talking. Danny felt sure he can get someone to talk, he just had to push a little harder. They both felt like the case was close to being solved, which would be good for Jamie.

With the sun setting and dark settling in, she paused for a moment after she walked out of the building. She usually tried to leave before it got too dark or at least tried to park closer where it was brightly lit with streetlights, but earlier that day the good parking spaces were taken and her workload kept her later than she would have liked, meaning now she would have to cross the street to go into the dimly light parking structure to get to her car.

As she crossed the road, she slipped her hand into her bag, closing it over the can of pepper spray she kept in there. She tried to tell herself over and over that everything was okay and she was safe, and she was close to believing that until she heard footsteps echoing behind her as she began to walk through the parking structure. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she began to jog toward her car, the sound of her high heels slapping against the pavement.

She turned a corner, then glancing over her shoulder, seeing a shadowy figure as it followed along behind her. Seeing her car up ahead, she traded the pepper spray for her car keys and hit the panic button on the key fob, causing her car lights to start flashing, the horn to blow and the car alarm to go off, hoping to scare away the person.

Planning to make a quick escape, she hit the unlock door button and reached out to open the driver side door until she felt someone touch her shoulder, before saying,"Excuse me, miss."

She spun around with a gasp, seeing an unfamiliar man in a dark suit. He held up his hands as he said,"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Seeing how terrified she looked, he questioned,"Are you okay?"

"Who are you?" Noelle asked, ignoring his question.

He kept his hands up a little longer, showing her that he didn't have any kind of weapon and wasn't going to hurt her. He slowly reached into his coat pocket, then showed her his badge as he yelled over the noise,"I'm Lieutenant Alex Bello of Internal Affairs."

She looked at his badge, then looked at him again, before she turned the alarm off, and offered him an apology.

He shook the apology off, stating that it was better safe than sorry. Getting to the reason he tracked her down, he asked,"Are you Noelle Kelley?"

"Yes, I am." She said as she blew out a breath, realizing how badly she had overreacted before. For one terrifying moment, she was worried it was Jimmie after her. She hated how he was still in her mind and controlling her, she just wanted her life back.

"I was wondering if I can ask you a few questions?" Bello asked, getting her attention. When she nodded her head, he continued,"I understand you are close to Probationary Officer Jameson Reagan."

She nodded her head, then said,"Yeah, we grew up together."

"Okay." He said, pulling out a small notebook and wrote something down. "How would you describe his mental state the day of the incident?"

"I didn't talk to him that day." She answered. "But a few days before I saw him and he was fine. He was his normal self."

"You two are close childhood friends, yet, you didn't talk to him for a few days?" Bello questioned, like it was unusual that they didn't talk every day.

"Yeah. We both work, we get busy." She answered like it was no big deal, and it shouldn't be, but when it came to them it was unusual not to talk constantly. At least it was when they were young, then feelings got in the way and complicated things. None of that had anything to do with the case though, so it was none of his business.

"So you didn't talk to him that night or meet up with him?"

"What? No." She stated.

"You sure?" He asked. "We know he met up with a woman. A witness said a red-head woman, but maybe it was more brown with a tint of red from all the fluorescent signs in business windows."

"Seriously?" She scoffed. When he shot her a look, letting her know how serious he was, she rolled her eyes, then said,"No, I didn't meet up with Jamie anywhere that night. I worked and then I went to the hospital to visit my brother."

"I would like to speak to you brother."

"Good luck." She said with a tight smile. "If you find him, you can question him all you want."

"Well, can anyone at the hospital corroborate with that then?" He questioned as he slipped his notebook back into his pocket. If she was there, that was a pretty tight alibi, meaning she wasn't the woman Jamie was with that night.

"Yeah, some of the nurses saw me." She said with a nod.

"Okay, thank you for your time." Bello said.

"You're welcome." Noelle said. She didn't mind doing anything that might would help Jamie, she would happily answer any question he had.

He flashed her a small smile, then turned to leave, until she stepped forward and called his name. When he turned to face her, she added,"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but bottom line, Jamie is one of the good guys. Being a cop is in his blood and I have no doubt he's going to do a damn good job. I also know he wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that."

"I'll keep that in mind." He said, turning and walking away. He wasn't ready to make up his mind one way or another yet, he still had some interviews to do, and he really needed to find the woman he did speak to that night. Maybe she would be able to fill in some blanks and he would be able to close this case.

Noelle watched him walk away then slide behind the wheel of her car. Once inside she quickly locked the doors, then crank the car, turning up the heat to ward off the night chill. Now alone, she thought back to her fear before when Bello was following her. She should probably feel embarrassed by her reaction, but she wasn't, instead it upset her.

She folded her arms on the steering wheel and leaned forward to rest her head against them. It didn't matter how many times Spencer told her that Jimmie was locked up, she couldn't believe it. She just kept waiting for him to pop out of the shadows and destroy her world again.

As the inside of the car began to warm up, she raised her head, then turned it to the side to grab the seatbelt. Her hand froze in mid-air, her breath catching in her throat, when she saw a handprint on the driver side window. With her heart pounding in her chest, she quickly spun around in her seat, checking the backseat, and blew out a breath when she saw the seat and floor were empty. There was nothing or no one hiding in her car.

She turned back to face the front of the car, at first too scared to turn her head and look at the handprint again. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to look again, to take a closer look at it. She told herself maybe it was her own handprint from opening the door earlier or maybe someone accidentally touched it as they walked past it. Hell, it could have been an old handprint of Jamie's for all she knew. There were many explanations for it, but her mind always jumped to Jimmie.

Minutes later, she blew out a breath and opened her eyes, before slowly turning her head to look at the handprint again. She held up a hand, seeing it shake, then laid it against the glass. Her vision blurred with tears when she saw the print was bigger than her hand, but that still didn't mean it was Jimmie's. It could be someone else's... it had to be someone else's.

•••

After the incident in the parking garage, she went straight home and rushed inside her apartment. She slammed the door shut and clicked all the locks, then went around double checking that every window was locked. Once she felt sure she was safe and alone, she released the breath she didn't even realize she had been holding since leaving her car.

She sank down onto the couch, the adrenaline rush from earlier leaving her body and making her feel tired. She glanced around the room for a moment, making sure nothing looked out of place, then blew out a breath as she laid out on the couch to catch a nap. She was suddenly thankful that she never cleared the couch after making it for her brother the other day, as she laid her head on the pillow and grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and covered herself up.

She wasn't too worried about messing up her sleeping schedule since she didn't really have one. Most of the time when she napped the sleep was restless and she was up hours later and this time was no different. A few hours later, she was awake and roaming the apartment to check the windows again. Then, knowing she needed to relax, she took a long bubble bath and tried to clear her mind.

Afterwards, she finally changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of colorful pajama bottoms and a long sleeve top, then made her way back into the living room. Even though it was after three in the morning, she knew there was no way she was going back to sleep anytime soon, which was why she was now sitting on the couch watching a Disney movie with a bowl of popcorn in her lap.

An hour later, as she was coming to the end of a movie, she reached up to wipe some tears from her eyes at the sad scene playing on the television, then reached out to grab the remote and pause the movie when she thought she heard a noise outside the front door.

As her heart began to pound, she slowly sat the bowl down on the coffee table in front of her before slowly standing up from the couch. She walked softly toward her bag, which was on the floor by the end of the couch, then reached inside to grab the pepper spray. With that in one hand, she reached out with her other one to scoop up her cell phone from the table, she was seconds away from calling for help, when she saw her phone light up with a new call and Jamie's name and picture popped up.

She lowered her eyebrows in concern as she answered the call and placed the phone against her ear, calling out surprised greeting.

"Hey, I didn't wake you, did I?" Jamie asked quietly, starting to regret his decision, but honestly he wasn't even thinking earlier, he just reacted.

"No, I've been up for a while." She admitted.

"Good." He said with a sigh of relief. "Look, I know it's late... well early, but I'm outside your door..." Before he could finish his sentence, she dropped the pepper spray back into the bag, then began to walk toward the door and pulled it open, realizing it was Jamie she had heard earlier.

"Hey." He said into the phone as she stood in front of him. Realizing he was still on the phone, he let out a chuckle, then ended the call as he smiled at her. "Like I said, I know it's early, but can I come in?"

"Of course." She said, stepping aside for him to walk in. She shut the door and turned all the locks back, before turning to watch him for a moment, she could instantly tell something was on his mind. "What's going on, Jamie? Did something happen at work? Your job-"

"It's okay." He cut her off. "Or at least, I think it's going to be. Since the autopsy Danny's got a big lead. He said it seems promising."

"Good, that's good." She said as the two walked over to the couch. They sat down, side by side, with her eyes on him, studying him and waiting for him to explain why he was there.

After a few silent minutes, when he didn't say anything, she spoke up, "Well, if everything is good at work, why are you here at 4 in the morning?"

Jamie didn't say anything as he reached into the pocket of the blue jeans he was wearing, then sat a ring down on the coffee table. She instantly recognized it as the ring he proposed to Sydney with, the one that belonged to his mother.

She was always in awe of the ring growing up, asking his mother a million of questions about it. His mother even let her wear for a second or two in the past and joked that maybe she would get to wear it for longer one day.

She never really knew what she meant by that comment until she was older and realized she was hinting that maybe Jamie would propose to her one day, but that never happened. Instead he gave the ring to someone else. She was surprised to see it sitting on her coffee table now though, she knew if that ring would have ever been placed on her finger, she never would have taken it off.

Turning her head away from the ring, she looked at Jamie beside her as she softly said,"I'm sorry, Jamie." When he didn't say anything, just stared at the ring, she added,"I know you might not believe that, since I was never a big fan of Sydney, but I know how much you love her and at the end of the day, I want you to be happy."

"Honestly, for a while, things haven't been too happy." He admitted as he laid back against the couch.

"For someone who didn't grow up with cops, it's probably hard to date one." She pointed out as she leaned back beside him.

"Yeah..." He softly said in agreement. He was quiet for a moment, before admitting,"But it wasn't just that. I've been distracted lately and she's not stupid, she picked up on that." Between the investigation into the Templar and the girl beside him, most of the time when he was home with Sydney, he wasn't really there.

"I know how it is to have work take over your life." She began to say. "When I was in Florida, that is basically all I did was work. It was a big distraction and you're starting a whole new career-"

"It wasn't the job, Nol." He said, cutting her off. Turning his head to look at her, he softly added,"It was mostly someone. Someone was distracting me."

She swallowed hard at his comment. She didn't know for a fact that he was talking about her, but from the way he was staring at her, she couldn't help but assume she was the one he meant. She cleared her throat, then turned her head to break the eye contact.

"Are you thirsty?" She questioned as she quickly stood up from the couch. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, she rambled on,"You're probably thirsty... I know I'm thirsty. I'll-I'll be right back."

She heard him softly chuckle as she rushed out of the living room and into the kitchen. She came to a stop in front of the refrigerator and told herself she needed to calm down. Just because he was single now, it didn't mean anything was going to happen. They have had some moments lately and he could have been talking about her earlier, but there was also a chance she was reading too much into things because she had wanted it so much.

She opened the refrigerator door and reached inside to grab a bottle of water, then froze for a moment, realizing she needed something stronger. She closed the door, then opened the freezer door and grabbed the bottle of vodka; she had bought the bottle the other day when her brother disappeared and she needed a couple of shots to get through the day. She had a feeling the bottle was needed again.

She grabbed two shot glasses, then made her way back into the living room. She pushed her hopes aside and told herself she was just going to be there for him as a friend. That is what he needed right now.

When Jamie saw what she had in her hands, his eyebrows went up. "What is this? A celebration?"

Noelle chuckled at his comment as she sat the bottle and glasses down on the coffee table. "No. I was serious before, I am sorry this happened, Jamie, and I just figured with the night you had, you might want some."

She poured some into a shot glass for herself, then poured one for him. She slid the glass toward him as she added,"Plus, I don't have any ice cream, so this is the next best thing."

"Hey, I wasn't complaining." He said, sitting up to grab the glass.

The two took a shot, then made a face as the clear liquid burned their throats as it went down. She quickly filled the glasses again when he lightly tapped on the side of the glass, signaling he wanted more. They took a few more shots, each one going down a little easier, before she sat the bottle aside then asked him if he wanted to watch a movie.

They both knew they should probably get some rest, since they had to work the next day, but neither one wanted the night to end yet.

"What were you watching before?" He questioned as she stood up to take out the dvd she was watching before he knocked on her door.

She turned around away from the television to face him, a smile on her face as she said,"I'll give you a hint." He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He nodded his head, telling her to continue.

"I'm Copper. I'm a hound dog." She said in a silly, child-like, voice before letting out a howl, causing him to laugh out loud.

"The Fox and the Hound." He said, with a nod, knowing exactly what movie she was talking about. He could never forget the movie, since she made him watch it a million of times growing up, to the point where both could recite it at any given moment.

He shot her a look, before adding,"I never understood why you love that movie so much though, it always makes you cry."

"I just try not to think of the sad moments once they are older." She said, sitting back down beside him. "I like to think about them when they were young and the best of friends."

Jamie poured himself a shot and turned up the glass. As he sat the glass down, he used his own funny voice to say,"Copper, you're my best friend."

Noelle looked over at him, a laugh escaping her lips as she said,"And you're mine too, Tod."

His face grew serious as he spoke the next line from the movie with his normal voice,"And we'll always be friends forever. Won't we?"

"Yeah, forever." She softly said, her tone as serious as his.

"Can I be honest with you about something?" He questioned, all jokes aside. When she nodded her head, her throat going dry as she wondered what words were going to come out of his mouth.

"I'm not a huge fan of this whole break thing." He admitted. Leaning toward her, he continued,"I mean, growing up we were inseparable, Nol. Then you moved and I barely saw you for years and now you're back and I just... I miss you."

"I miss you too, Jams." She said back. She felt goosebumps pop up on her skin when he laid a hand on top of hers, then softly ran his thumb over the back of her hand. She bit her bottom lip for a moment, then pulled her hand away, before she stood up from the couch and asked him again what movie he wanted to watch.

She walked toward the television and kept her back toward him as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't know why she was so nervous all of a sudden, maybe it was because it seemed like something was happening, and even though she had dreamed of this moment, she couldn't help but think of the bad timing. He and his fiancée just broke up, he was vulnerable, and thanks to her bringing out the liquor, he was also drunk.

For the next couple of minutes, she kept herself busy, looking over her dvd collection as she pretended to look for a movie to watch. She could hear him grabbing the bottle from the table, causing her to glance over her shoulder for a moment, seeing him pour some of the clear liquid into both shot glasses before drinking both of them. When she saw him fill them again, she turned her head back toward the dvds.

"Hey, do you remember your 11th birthday?" He suddenly asked.

"Mm-hm." She answered, feeling a fluttering in her stomach. The thing that stood out the most that birthday was her first kiss, she couldn't help but wonder if that is what he thinking about, and from his next comment, it was plain to see that is exactly what he was thinking about too.

"You know that day was my first kiss too, right?"

I know." She softly said, keeping her back toward him. She had no idea where he was going with this conversation, and she was too scared to turn around and face him, she was worried he would be able to read her face and know all the thoughts running through her head about him.

"I think about that day a lot." He drunkenly admitted as he ran a hand through his hair. "The thing I think about the most is what that kiss did to me. No other kiss has affected me like that kiss did." He raised his head to look at her back as he asked,"What does that mean? What does it mean when no other kiss has felt like that?"

"We were young, Jamie, and with it being our first, it's special. It's important to our past and to us." She said, trying to explain it away. It's not that she didn't like what she was hearing, she loved it actually, but she kept reminding herself that he was drunk and grieving a broken engagement.

"I don't think that's the reason." He mumbled as he took another shot, as if he needed a little bit of liquid courage.

"Or maybe it just means you're drunk." She added jokingly. "I'm not that drunk." She heard his voice say from behind her, causing her to spin around in surprise at seeing him standing behind her. She never heard him get up from the couch.

She let out a chuckle and nodded toward the bottle on the coffee table. "The half empty bottle says otherwise."

"Oh." He mouthed, turning his head to look at the bottle for a moment. He turned his head back to look at him, his eyes dropping down to her lips, when she nervously bit her bottom lip. "I'm not too drunk to do this." He softly said as he laid a hand on the side of her face, then leaned forward to press his lips against hers for a gentle kiss.

Noelle's eye widen in shock and she stood frozen in place for a moment, but she couldn't stop a breathy moan from escaping when he lightly nibbled on her bottom lip, trying to get a reaction out of her before he began to move his lips against hers again. Getting caught up in the moment, she felt her eyes flutter shut as she her fingers went into his hair to pull his face closer to hers, the kiss quickly heating up.

Needing to breathe, he pulled back a little to end the kiss. He kept his hand on the side of her face as he quietly admitted,"I wanted to do that since I knocked on your door tonight." He paused for a moment in thought, then continued,"Well, truthfully, I've wanted to do that since you moved back, but I knew I shouldn't."

She whispered out his name, planning to tell him he shouldn't now since he was drunk, but before she could utter a word his mouth was on hers for another spine tingling kiss. She felt him move his hand from her face to the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her hair as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She let out a small groan, then as much as she hated to, she pulled back to end the kiss.

"Jamie..." She whispered as she looked at him. With a short shake of the head, she continued,"You're not thinking-"

"You're right, I'm not." He interrupted her. He kept a hand tangled in her hair, his thumb resting on her cheek as he softly caressed it. "When it comes to you, all I've ever done is think, but for once I'm not. I'm just... I'm following my heart, I guess. I'm doing what I've thought about doing for years, but always talked myself out of it."

She laid her hands on his chest, her fist balling up around the soft black t-shirt he was wearing. She lowered her head for a moment and blew out a breath, before saying,"You've had an emotional night and you've been drinking... You don't know what you're saying."

She wanted to believe that he did, but she was honestly scared to believe it. What if all of this was just the liquor talking? What if the next morning he didn't remember, or worse, what if he regretted it?

He lightly grabbed her chin, forcing her to raise her head to look at him as he asked,"And what if I did know what I was saying? What if I did mean it?"

She gave him a small smile and stepped back out of his arms. "Then you'll still mean it in the morning."

When she saw him open his mouth to argue, she shook her head to stop him, then reached out to grab his arm. She began to lead him back over toward the couch as she said,"You should get some sleep. You can crash here."

Jamie nodded his head to thank her and sat down on the couch. Honestly the last thing he wanted to do was sleep- what he really wanted to do was kiss her a little bit long, but he didn't want to push her. She seemed convinced this was just the liquor talking, but he knew deep down it was his hidden feelings coming out.

He was upset about his break up, he did love Sydney and a part of him will always love her, just like there was another part of him that will always have strong feeling for Noelle, the same feelings that he pushed away for years.

He reached out to grab one of her hands, bringing it toward his mouth as he kissed the inside of her wrist. He kept his lips pressed against her skin a few extra minutes as his hazel eyes stared into her brown ones.

"We'll always be friends forever. Won't we?" He questioned, using the lines from the movie again like earlier.

She gave him a genuine smile as she whispered,"Yeah, forever."

He gave her a smile as he held on to her hand, a part of him didn't want to let it go, but he knew he had to. He rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand as he softly said,"I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning." She whispered back.

The two stared at each other for a moment longer, until she pulled in a shaky breath, then took a step back, causing him to drop her hand. She knew one of them had to be strong and walk away in this moment, and from the way he was looking at her, she knew it wasn't going to be him.

She could swear she could hear their child-like promise in her head, swearing they would be friends forever, but if she stayed in the room for any longer, she feared that promise would be broken once he sobered up and realized he made a mistake, which meant, as hard as it was going to be she had to walk away.

She whispered out night, then backed away from him. She turned to leave the room, the feel of his lips against hers weighing heavily on her mind. Usually she couldn't sleep at night because of nightmares, but tonight, she had a feeling it was going to be for another reason.

•••

 _A/N; So this chapter was pretty good, I guess. I mean, nothing that exciting happened, right? HAHA, just kidding! I'm still flipping out over the kissing scene. I had so much fun writing it! Not gonna lie tho, the handprint part kinda freaked me out lol._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to BlueBlood82, werks, lilnightmare17, BLBLF, jlmayer, Guest, mcgeeksgirl, BrookeErinMelton, Daniel Reagan and Guest for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	9. Wise Words

**09; Wise Words**

Next morning, the sun began to peek into the room and landed on Jamie's face. He let out a tired groan and threw an arm over his eyes. As he began to come out of a sleep, the first thing he noticed was his pounding headache.

He smacked his lips, the next thing coming to mind was how dry his mouth was. As much as he didn't want to, he slowly opened his eyes, staring up at a ceiling that looked nothing like his, which quickly reminded him that he was in Noelle's living room sleeping on her couch. When the night before came rushing back, he let out another groan as he sat up and laid his head in his hands.

He had kissed her. He kissed Noelle.

He blew out a chuckle as a smile appeared on his face. He had wanted to kiss her that way for a while. He just wished he wasn't so drunk when he done it, he didn't want her to think that was the only reason that he did it. All the liquor did was give him the chance to turn his brain off for the night and gave him the courage to make the move.

He ran his hands over his face, willing himself to wake up, then dropped them, his eyes landing on the engagement ring still laid on the coffee table. He let out a sigh, then reached forward to grab the ring as he was hit with guilt.

When Sydney ended things last night, she brought up his feelings for Noelle, she was convinced he had more than friendly feelings for her. He had opened his mouth to argue with her, but realized he couldn't. The truth was he did have more than friendly feelings for his best friend. They have been there since he was eleven, he just learned how to push them aside through the years, but since she came back into his life, it got harder.

At his silence, tears had filled Sydney's eyes as she realized it was over between them. Early in their relationship, if she accused him of having feelings for Noelle, he would deny it and she believed him. Because of that, she always felt confident in letting Noelle know her place, reminding her that she was just a friend while she was the fiancée, but lately there was a shift between them all and she didn't feel like his fiancée anymore; she barely felt like a friend to him. So when her boss came to her with an incredible job opportunity, she saw it as a blessing.

Jamie continued to look down at the ring as he wondered if the break up was the right thing to do. Regardless of the strong feelings for Noelle, the feelings he had for Sydney were still present. What they had was good, she was the first one since Noelle he could see a future with, and he was throwing that away for a chance to see if there was something between him and Noelle.

He couldn't help but think back to the warning his brother Joe gave him as a teenager when he came to him about his growing feelings for his best friend; he told him to always follow his heart, but to also proceed with caution. If things went wrong, he could lose his best friend.

Before he could think any further on it, he heard his cell phone beep with a new message. He slipped the ring into his pants pocket, then reached into his other pocket to pull out his phone, seeing he had a message from his brother Danny.

He was wondering if he could meet him, he had good news about the case against him. Jamie texted him back, naming a small diner near her apartment and told him he would meet him there in about ten minutes. If Danny recognized that as her neighborhood, he was nice enough not to call him out on it.

After texting with his brother, Jamie stood up from the couch and stretched. He was thankful that her couch was so comfortable, if it had been his own he would have woke up with a backache to go along with his hangover. He made his way down the small hall and into the bathroom.

After using the bathroom, he washed his hands, then splashed some cold water on his face. He turned away from the sink to open the cabinet door and grab a towel to dry his hands and face with.

He lowered his eyebrows and let out a soft chuckle, when he noticed the towels were stacked by color. He knew she was picky with how she decorated, but he never knew she was that bad about it. To joke around, he rearranged them, then made a note to himself to tease her about it later, if she didn't fuss at him first for changing them around.

He tossed the towel into the hamper, then went back out into the hall. He turned his head, seeing her open bedroom door and walked toward it. He peeked his head inside, seeing her curled up in the middle of the bed, surrounded by pillows like they were a barrier. He hated to leave without saying anything, but he didn't want to wake her up either.

Spying a notepad on top of the dresser, he grabbed it as well as a pen, then spent the next few minutes trying to figure out what to say.

Finally he decided on thanking her for letting him crash on her couch and told her they would talk about what happened soon. He didn't want to ignore that it happened and have her overanalyze everything, which he knew would drive her crazy. There was stuff they needed to talk about, things they needed to figure out. Regardless of what happens, after that kiss, there was no turning back. Things have changed and they needed to acknowledge that.

He stood the note up and laid it against her cell phone, knowing she would see it when she woke up, then he turned his head to look at her. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out and brushing some hair from her face, his fingertips lightly grazing her cheek, causing her to let out a content sigh as pleasant dreams filled her head.

He leaned down to press his lips against her forehead, catching a whiff of her vanilla scented shampoo, the scent reminded him of cake, which in his opinion was perfect for her.

Hearing the small beep from his phone, he pulled back from her and slipped his phone out, seeing that it was past the time he was supposed to be meeting Danny, which is what he pointed out in the text message when he asked where he was. He texted back to say he was on his way, then glanced over at her one more time as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

A soft smile appeared on his face as he backed out of the room and made his way toward the front door. The night before flooded his mind and he relived the feel of his lips against hers over and over again.

•••

After laying in bed most of the night wide awake thinking of the kiss, Noelle finally drifted off to sleep, her dreams were actually good for once. She was in the middle of one of those good dreams, starring her best friend in his blue uniform, when she heard her phone chime with a new text message.

Without opening her eyes, her hand shot out from the comforter, knocking several things from the top of the bedside table, including the note Jamie left her, which floated down to the floor and under the bed.

When her hand found the cell phone, she picked it up and brought it close to her face, then finally cracked an eye open. She squinted her eyes as the bright light hit it, then blinked both eyes for a minute before opening them to read the text message from a co-worker giving her a heads-up when she arrives at work later.

Recently, she heard rumors around work about there were problems with some of the DNA test in older trials and there was a chance some of the criminals would be released- apparently it wasn't a rumor anymore and now a lot of her co-workers were in a panic.

She tossed the comforter aside and jumped out of bed, then raced over to the closet to grab a dark pencil skirt, a button down blouse and a pair of boots. She tossed the clothes on to the bed, then began to walk out of the bedroom, calling out Jamie's name.

"Okay, drunkie, time to wake up." Noelle joked as she walked into the living room. She came to a stop, her face falling when she saw the empty couch. She glanced around the room, like she thought he was suddenly going to appear, it was better than accepting the truth- he left without saying a word.

"So much for meaning it in the morning." She quietly said to herself, remembering when he said that he did know what he was saying and that he did mean it. She told him if he did, he would mean it in the morning, but the empty couch told her that it was just the liquor talking. She couldn't help but think this meant he did remember the kiss, but quickly regretted it when he woke up.

She blew out a breath, then turned around to walk back down the hall to get ready for work. After she showered and dressed, she left the apartment and glanced down at the silent cell phone in her hand. She wasn't going to lie, she had hoped in the time she got ready for work, that he would have texted her, but there were no new message waiting for her. She shook her head and slipped the phone into her bag as she lectured herself for even getting her hopes up.

She tried her best to push Jamie and the kiss from her mind as she drove to work. She wouldn't think about how his eyes flutter shut before he leaned toward her or how gently he held her face in his hands. And she definitely wouldn't think about how soft his lips were or the tingle she felt from head to toe when those lips were against hers. She was also not going to think about the heated dreams she had afterwards because of that kiss.

No, for now, she just needed to think about work and the drama she was about to step into once she arrived. Thankfully, none of the test were done by her, all of this happened before she started working there, but she was worried about a few co-workers she had befriended since working there. Plus she knew all of this would just create more work for the ones who got to keep their job, and they were already short-staffed.

As soon as she walked into the building she could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was nervous and on edge, not only did some have to worry about their jobs, but the really bad thing was because of an error some real mean and dangerous criminals were being released that morning; one of them was a convicted serial killer who tortured four women and killed three of them. One survived by holding the bindings on her wrist above the burning bed she was tied to and escaped.

She could imagine what that poor woman was feeling right now knowing the man who hurt her was walking free. She knew she would be terrified if Jimmie was released, even if he was states away, she would still be looking over her shoulders and jumping at shadows- hell she did things like that now. Just because you survived hell, doesn't mean you forget it. Those memories were always fresh in your mind.

While deep in thought, she didn't hear one of her co-workers walk up behind her, causing her to gasp and spin around when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She was seconds away from swinging her bag and hitting the person until she recognized him, causing her to let out a small chuckle.

"Jeez, Will, you scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry." He said, holding up his hands. Nodding toward her oversized bag, he added,"Although I kinda got that when you were about to pound me with your purse. Have you been taking self-defense from old women?"

Noelle shook her head at his joke, another laugh escaping her lips as she joked back,"Hey, swinging bags is harder than it looks." She lightly patted the side of the bag,"Plus, with as much crap as I keep in here, I probably could do some damage."

"Maybe those little, old ladies are onto something." Will said, tapping his chin with a finger, pretending he was deep in thought.

"Don't knock it until you try it." She said as she walked into her office with Will on her heels.

In the comfort of her office, the mood shifted and he turned serious. "Did you watch the press conference this morning?"

"No." She answered with a shake of her head. She sat her bag down on top of the desk in the corner, then turned to face him. "After I got your text, I got ready then came here."

"Well, you didn't miss much." He told her. "The mayor made sure people remembered this happened before he came into office, but he'll be sure to get the ones responsible."

"Of course. Can't have anyone blaming him, so he has to point fingers elsewhere." She said sarcastically. "You know, maybe if we weren't so short-staffed around here and had more resources and funding, mistakes like this wouldn't happen."

"That's basically what Councilwoman Collins said." He said. "Well, before she threw the Commissioner and entire police department under the bus."

"That's crazy." She scoffed. After being raised around cops and knowing a few now, she was easily offended when someone badmouth cops. "They are the ones risking their lives to catch these criminals!"

"Hey, you don't have to tell me." He said. The comment from Collins had pissed him off too, one of his siblings was a cop as well.

"This is all such a nightmare." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "And the sad thing is, there isn't anything any of us can do until one of them steps out of line, but you know they are going to be extra careful."

"I don't know about anyone else, but the one I am worried about the most is Richard Reed." He shook his head, before continuing,"My younger sister was still in college when all of that was going on. I made her move in with me until he was caught, I was too scared for her, even though she was living on campus."

"Sounds like you're a pretty good big brother, Will." She said with a kind smile. She couldn't really count on her own brother when she was growing up, but in a way, she still had protective brothers, thanks to Danny, Joe and Jamie.

"Yeah, she wasn't a fan of my overprotectiveness growing up, but in that moment, she was grateful for it." He stated. "I think the worst part is, I heard Reed is pretty charismatic. No one even realized he was doing this at first. He was just out there... doing all of this and getting away with it. How is that even possible?"

"It's hard to know who to avoid when the monsters don't look like monsters." She softly said, even though she knew his question was rhetorical. She knew this first hand, Jimmie wasn't the charismatic type, but he didn't look like he was capable to do the things he did either. First time she laid eyes on him, he just looked devastated and a little lost, had she known the truth about him, she never would have spoken to him.

"I just hope they find a way to lock him back up before he gets his hands on someone else." Will said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Noelle nodded her head in agreement, she had no doubt that Danny was on the case and would keep an eye out, while Erin worked around the clock to find a legal way to get him back into jail. Will spoke to her for a few more minutes, until he got a call to go pick up a body.

Once he was gone, she sat down at her desk, grabbing the first folder sitting off to the side and tried to fill out a report, but her mind began to wander. All it took was one mistake and few dangerous criminals were released, it didn't matter if they tortured, raped or killed someone, they were able to freely walk away and possibly hurt someone again.

She couldn't stop a chill from running down her spine as she thought about some of the things that have happened to her lately, things that Jimmie had done before, was it possible that a little mistake has set him free as well?

With that question on her mind, she reached out to grab her cell phone, sending Spencer a text message, begging him to call the institution Jimmie was being held at. It's not that she didn't trust his word when he told her repeatedly that Jimmie was there, she just needed that confirmation. She needed to make sure her worst nightmare wasn't coming true.

•••

Jamie let out a sigh and laid his head back against the headrest while he waited for Renzulli to eat his lunch inside a small diner. Since he didn't have much of an appetite he passed on lunch and instead stayed in the car and let his mind wander to Noelle for the millionth time that day.

He had told her in a note that they would talk about things, but he honestly didn't know what to say. He knew the things he was feeling and a part of him wanted to go for it, but the other part of him was terrified of things going wrong and losing her from his life completely. Plus, even if they were over now, there was still Sydney to think about. He didn't want to hurt her, but he felt like he already did.

After his meeting with Danny, who informed him that he had solved the case, he had went home to change for work and came across a note from Sydney. She told him she was staying with a friend for a few days until she left for London so he wouldn't have to leave the apartment late at night and crash somewhere else. Then she told him she hoped he and Noelle would be very happy together- which on paper sounded nice, but he had no doubt she didn't mean it in a nice way.

In her mind, he had already moved on and that hurt her more than she wanted to admit, and the sad thing is, she was right in a way. As soon as she ended things he ran to Noelle and kissed her- what did that say about him?

He didn't stay and fight, he didn't try to talk her out of it or beg her not to leave; instead he accepted it, left and knocked on his best friend's door. He should have thought about Sydney's feelings more, maybe then he wouldn't feel so guilty now.

Hearing the passenger door open, he turned his head to the side and saw Renzulli sitting down. He patted his full stomach, then reached back to grab the seat belt. Looking over at Jamie behind the wheel, he said,"You missed a good lunch, rookie. This place has the best meatball hero you'll ever find."

"I'll take your word on it." Jamie said, cranking the car. Before pulling out into traffic, he glanced over at him, then joked,"If it was so good, you should have got more in your mouth than your uniform."

Renzulli quickly looked down at his blue button up shirt, worried he had spilled sauce on it, until he heard Jamie trying to hold back a laugh and realized he was teasing him. "Just for that, I should make you do my laundry." He joked back.

Jamie chuckled at his comment, then grew silent as he drove down the road, his mind going back to his thoughts from earlier. Renzulli glanced over at his silent partner, seeing that something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"What's going on with you today?" Renzulli questioned after a few minutes of silence.

"Nothing." Jamie said with a shake of his head.

"You're quiet." Renzulli pointed out.

"You're just talking more than usual, so it seems like I'm quiet." Jamie joked.

"Watch it, rookie." Renzulli playfully warned, making him laugh. He watched his partner a few minutes longer, then asked,"Is something going on with the pretty doctor who's out of your league?"

"She's a medical examiner." Jamie corrected him.

"Close enough." Renzulli said, then added,"But I noticed you avoided the question. So I'm taking that to mean something did happen."

"How do you do that?" Jamie looked over at him for a moment before looking back at the road.

"I've told you before, I'm observant." Renzulli said.

Jamie blew out a breath, then said,"Okay, something happened, but it's not as bad as what you're probably thinking." The last thing he wanted was his partner to get the wrong idea about him. "Sydney's got the opportunity to go to London to work on a big case for the next six months, and she's taking it and she called off the engagement."

Renzulli nodded his head, but didn't say anything. He could have pointed out that couples have done long distance before, but he had a feeling the engagement was called off for more than just the job. With the way he talked about his best friend, then meeting her and seeing how they were around each other, it was clear to see something was there between them. He was observant after all.

"Afterwards, I went to Nol's and we were drinking and..." He cleared his throat, tightening his grip on the steering wheel, before admitting,"And I kissed her."

Renzulli remained silent, making Jamie wonder for a moment if he was ever going to comment, until he finally spoke. "Did I ever tell you how my wife almost didn't go out with me?"

"I can't imagine why." Jamie sarcastically said as he shot him a smile to let him know he was joking. Truthfully, he was a little curious what this had to do with his problem, he didn't have to wait long to find out though.

"Haha." Renzulli said back, matching his tone, before continuing his story. "The reason she said no was because a friend of hers had a crush on me and she felt like she would betray her by saying yes to me. Something to do with girl code, whatever that is."

After Jamie chuckled at his comment, he added,"She explained to me many times that she would like to go out with me but she would feel guilty taking me from her friend, but I explained to her that I was never her friend's to take. In the end, she agreed to go out with me and it was one of the best dates I ever been on."

A smile appeared on his face as he thought about his wife. "I think about that sometimes though, if she never would have followed her heart, we wouldn't be where we are now." Turning his head to look at Jamie, he added,"You can't help who you fall for, you know what I mean, kid?"

Jamie turned to look at him for a moment, a half-smile on his lips as he said,"Yeah." Turning back to look at the road, he thought about the story he told him, then asked,"Whatever happened to your wife and the friend?"

"They're still friends to this day. We're godparents to their oldest." Renzulli said. "They realized their friendship was more important than any childish drama. Then a couple of years later, the friend met this guy and fell for him. They are still together to this day and she says she's never been happier. Sometimes when you think something is ending and you'll never survive it, it's really just life setting you up for something better; a new beginning."

Jamie nodded his head at the comment, if he wasn't thinking about his problems so much, he would have cracked a joke about him sounding like a fortune cookie, but instead he took what he said to heart. Things might seem confusing for now, but hopefully in the end, this would set them all up for a new beginning and they all would end up happy.

Before the two could talk about the matter any further, they got a call over the radio, causing Jamie to flip the siren to get through the traffic and arrive on the scene.

One of the criminals who was released earlier that day was basically stalking his ex-wife, even though she had a restraining order against him. He was smart enough to keep the legal distance, between that and the fact that he already left, there wasn't much they can do at the moment. All they could do was tell her to call 911 like before if he showed up again.

"I freaking hate these bastards terrorizing their women, roughing 'em up." Renzulli said as they began to walk away from the apartment building. "And it's not just East Harlem. It's the West Village, the Upper East Side. They're a bunch of animals."

"Yeah." Jamie breathed out, then came to a quick stop as he realized what he said. He was right, there were men like that out there, ones who thought they owned their women. They would become obsessed with them, stalk them and, unfortunately, for some women there was no escape and most of those only got away because they fled the state.

He briefly wondered for a moment if that is what happened to Noelle. It was clear to see that something happened to her in Florida, something had her on edge and scared, could it be an ex not knowing when to let go? Could one of those animals Renzulli just spoke of have hurt her?

If she was having problems with someone, he didn't know why she wouldn't just tell him, but maybe it was for the same reason he hadn't told her about the Blue Templar; maybe she wanted to protect him from whoever it was. Maybe she feared for his safety as well as her own. She didn't need to do that though, he could take care of himself, and he could take care of her as well if she just let him.

"What's wrong?" Renzulli questioned as he turned to look at him when he stopped.

"Nothing." Jamie said, shaking his head. He wasn't sure if there was anything wrong yet. He needed to do a little investigating and hopefully he would find the answer to his question.

•••

That afternoon, instead of grabbing some lunch, Noelle walked a few blocks down from her work building to reach the district attorney's office. She entered the building and asked for Erin, then followed the directions from the helpful girl at the front. She came to a stop in front of the door with her name written on it. She lightly tapped on the door, then pushed it open when she heard Erin call out to come in.

"Hey, busy bee, how's it going?" Noelle questioned as she poked her head into the room.

"Hey, you!" Erin exclaimed as she turned to smile at the younger girl. She held out her arms as Noelle walked further into the room to hug her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" She asked as she stepped back to end the hug.

"I just thought it was time to visit your office." Noelle said, glancing around nervously. She was a little unsure how to bring up the real reason for the visit, which was to talk about Jamie.

"Uh-huh." Erin said, looking at her closely. She wasn't buying the excuse. "I have a feeling there is more to it than that. You have the same look on your face as you did years ago when you asked me those very awkward sex questions."

"Oh, God, I'll never forget that day." Noelle said with a chuckle. "I was so embarrassed to ask, but too curious not to."

"How do you think I felt?" Erin questioned with a laugh of her own as she sank down to sit in her desk chair. "You're like a little sister to me and there you were, sitting in front of me on my bed, and asking me about different positions and how babies are made. I also remember the words 'dry lump' came out of your mouth."

Noelle burst out laughing at how misinformed she was back then. It was funny remembering the younger version of herself, the one who was naïve and innocent- the little girl who had not been touched yet by any of the badness of the world.

"That'll teach me to listen to those mean girls. They gave me all this wrong information just to mess with me." She said, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk. "They are also the ones who told me 'The Wizard of Oz' was based on a true story, which probably explains my hatred for it."

They were the same girls who use to tease her about Jamie, telling her that he would never see her as anything more than a tomboy and the thought of touching her would repulse him. They would call her all kinds of names and even ran into her countless of times to knock her into stuff, then act innocent when a teacher asked what happened.

She remembered one day when one of the girls shoved her too hard against a bank of lockers and her head slammed against it. Jamie found her later in an empty classroom holding her head in her hands with tears in her eyes. He held her close as she rested her head against his chest while he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down as she told him about the bullying.

He wanted to say something to them or at least a teacher, but she begged him not to because she was too scared it would make things worse. Instead he basically became her shadow for the rest of that school year. He would walk her to all of her classes- even the ones he wasn't in so he could protect her.

At first she never knew why they picked on her so badly, until she discovered that her dad had arrested one of the girl's father on a drug charge, and they decided to take that out on her. Luckily the following year that girl moved and the rest of the girls left her alone.

"You hate 'The Wizard of Oz'?" Erin asked, getting back to her earlier comment and pulling her out of her thoughts. "Out of all the times I put that movie on for you and Jamie to watch, you never told me you hated it."

"I didn't want to make you mad." Noelle admitted with a shrug. "Plus, let's be honest, back then you wouldn't have really cared. You were just trying to distracted us so you could sneak out and hang with your friends."

"You two knew I was sneaking out?" She asked surprised. Apparently she wasn't as sneaky as she thought back in her wild days.

"We were young, but we weren't stupid." Noelle pointed out with a chuckle.

"Well, thankfully, those days are behind us. And you now have my promise, I will never make you watch that movie again." Erin said with a laugh.

"That is music to my ears." Noelle joked, not watching the movie again would make her very happy.

Erin laughed at her comment, then glanced at her watch, seeing that she had to leave soon for court. She stood up from her desk and began to gather her files. "I'm sorry to rush you along, but I got a case coming up."

"It's okay. I should get back to work, my lunch break will be over soon." Noelle said, standing up.

"But, don't think I am going to let you off easy though." Erin warned as she turned to look at her. "I know there is something you want to talk to me about."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal." She said back, trying to brush it off as she began to chicken out.

"It was a big enough deal for you to come to my work." Erin pointed out. "I'll check my schedule later and set up a time for us to talk, okay?"

"Thanks, Erin." She said back with a smile.

"It'll be my pleasure." Erin said, before grabbing another file and placing it into her bag. "Although I hope whatever my brother has done, he has fixed it by then."

"Believe it or not, Danny hasn't done anything." Noelle said, playing dumb.

"We both know I am not talking about Danny."

"We both do not know that..." She tried to say, until Erin stopped what she was doing to shoot her a look. "Okay, fine, we both do know that." She added with a sigh.

"Just remember... whatever is going on between you and Jamie, he cares about you and your friendship means the world to him. He's just a little confused right now." Erin said, offering a quick tidbit of advice before she had to leave. She didn't know exactly what happened to leave Noelle troubled, but she could guess what it was.

"How do you do that?" Noelle asked in awe.

"I grew up with you two, remember?" Erin said, stating the obvious. "Plus I read people for a living."

"I bet you're hell in the courtroom." Noelle said with a smile.

"I do pretty well." She said coyly. "Although it'll help if I get there on time." She joked, before she called out to her assistant, asking her to bring her a file she needed.

Hearing someone walk into the office, both girls turned their heads to look at Rachel, the assistant. "I know you're running late, but I have another visitor for you." Handing the case file to Erin, she added,"Becky Watalski?"

"Becky's here?" Erin asked, surprised, but relieved. She had tried to get in touch with the girl since it was revealed that Reed was being released.

"Becky as in-"

"Yeah, that Becky." Erin said, interrupting Noelle, knowing what she was going to ask. "The only girl to survive Reed."

"That poor girl." Noelle softly said with a concern look. She knew what it was like to stare into the eyes of a monster and fearing it would be the last thing you saw.

"Is it a... Is it a bad time?" Becky nervously asked as she poked her head into the room.

"No. No, not at all. I'm happy to see you. Come in." Erin said as she motioned for her to come in and her assistant exited the room.

"This is a friend of mine, Noelle Kelley, she works at the medical examiner's office." Erin said, introducing the brunette standing off to the side.

"It's nice to meet you, Becky." Noelle said, stepping forward to shake her hand.

"Are you one of the ones responsible for him getting out?" Becky asked.

"No, that was before I started there." Noelle answered. "But, I am so sorry this has happened to you. Trust me, none of us wanted him out on the streets."

Becky gave her a small smile, as if to thank her, then turned her attention to Erin, who began to move things out of a chair for her to sit down.

"I'll let you two talk." Noelle began to say as she took a few steps backwards toward the door. "I'll talk to you later, Erin." She said to her friend, then turned to Becky, telling her again how sorry she was, before she walked out of the office.

She gave a short wave to Rachel as she walked past her desk, then made her way down a long hallway to head for the exit.

Once outside, she stood still on the sidewalk for a moment as several people walked past her, going on with their busy lives. One of the great things about New York, was how busy and crowded it was; it was called the city that never sleeps for a reason.

It was easy to get lost in a crowd, to be ignored, but in this moment she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She wrapped her arms around herself as she glanced around and rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

Maybe it was just with everything going on lately, the blotched test that resulted in a few dangerous criminals to be released had her on edge. Maybe it was meeting Becky briefly and being able to relate to her. Maybe it was a hundred different reasons than the one she was thinking, which was that Jimmie was here.

She blew out a breath, hoping to calm her racing heart as she slipped her hand into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She felt disappointed when she didn't have a text back from Spencer yet. She just needed that confirmation from him.

She slipped the phone back into her bag, then turned to walk down the sidewalk, but instead collided into someone. She raised her head to apologize and froze when she noticed it was Richard Reed. She had seen his smug smile in the papers and had recognized him immediately.

"I'm sorry." Richard apologized. His eyes traveled down her body and back up, before a smirked appeared on his face, making her skin crawl. "Or maybe I'm not."

"Touch me or anyone else again... and you will be." Noelle hissed as she brushed past him to walk away, but his next words caused her steps to falter.

"Sassy. I like that." When she turned to look at him, he added,"Reminds me a lot of my second victim, Katie Snow." He paused for a moment in thought, before making a sound of pleasure then said,"Ooh, did she have a mouth on her."

"You're sick." Noelle stated as she looked at him with a look of disgust on her face.

"Hm, now that look on your face reminds me of my last girl... Becky." He said, a chuckle escaped his lips.

"Becky." She quietly repeated to herself, ignoring the rest of what he said as she remembered where they were and that Becky was right inside the building. She quickly reached into her bag to pull out her cell phone to warn Erin not to bring Becky outside, but before she could, she heard a loud scream and jerked her head up, seeing that she was too late.

Noelle slipped the phone back into her bag and rushed over to the hysterical woman as she began to hit Richard's chest with her fist and screaming at him.

After she and Erin were able to pull her away from Reed, Erin asked her to take Becky back inside. Noelle nodded, then wrapped an arm around Becky, speaking quietly to her as she began to lead her back inside as Danny pulled up and arrested him.

The two went back into Erin's office and she had asked Rachel to bring Becky some water. After Rachel appeared in the doorway with a bottle, Noelle took it from her and thanked her, then walked over to Becky and handed it to her while Rachel walked away to give them privacy.

She sat down in the chair beside her and turned it to face her better, she didn't say anything to her, she just sat beside her in silence until she was ready to talk.

"I'm sorry." Becky breathed out minutes later.

"You don't have anything to apologize for." Noelle told her.

"I told myself I could do this. That I could- I could testify against him." She began to say. "And I figured I would have time, you know, time to build to having to see him. But just now... I wasn't expecting him to be there. I mean, I knew he was free, I had seen his smug face on tv, but I never thought he would just be there, you know?"

"You are the only one who survived him, Becky, and now you are the one who holds his life in your hands." Noelle said. "When you testify against him, you're going to send him back to prison and he hates that. He hates knowing you have all the control now."

" _If_ I testify." Becky softly said as she looked down at her hands and nervously began to mess with her fingers.

Hearing the comment, Noelle scooted to the edge of the seat and leaned closer to her. She reached out to lay a hand on top of hers, before quietly saying,"I know this is hard, Becky. I know how hard it is to stare the person in the eyes that hurt you so badly and almost took your life, but you can't let him get away with it. You can't let him win."

Becky raised her head, seeing the look on her face and knew it was the same look she had seen on herself, causing her to say,"You really do, don't you? You do understand because something happened to you too."

Noelle slowly nodded her head, her voice dropping down to barely a whisper,"Close to a year ago."

"It's been five years for me." Becky said back. Tears filled her eyes as she admitted,"And it never gets easy."

"Unfortunately for us, it's probably never going to get easy." Noelle said.

Becky nodded her head in agreement, before adding,"All I have to do is close my eyes and he's there." She took in a shaky breath, then released it, before saying,"And if I pass by a mirror or a window and see the scars..." She paused for a moment to motioned toward the marks on her face, then continued,"It's like I'm right back there again. It's a constant reminder."

"I do that too." Noelle quietly said as she wrapped her arms around herself and self-consciously pulled her top down, talking about scars made her paranoid that hers was showing.

"Where are yours?" Becky questioned.

"Hidden." Noelle answered vaguely. "Well, hidden to everyone but me. I always see them, even when I'm not looking."

Becky nodded her head, knowing exactly what she meant. "How did you do it? How did you stare down the one who hurt you?" She questioned.

"I didn't have to." Noelle answered with a small shake of the head. "He was offered a plea so it never made it to court."

"If you didn't do it, why should I?" Becky questioned.

"For the ones who couldn't do it." Noelle answered. "For the ones who aren't as brave as you, for the ones who didn't survive." She paused for a moment, trying to get control of her emotions, before she tearful whispered,"Do it for all of us, Becky."

Hearing the click of high heels coming toward them, Noelle quickly wiped at her face, then turned to look at the door as Erin walked in. She rushed over to Becky, asking her if she was okay while Noelle stood up from the chair with her heart in her throat.

All of this was hitting a little too close to home for her. Their situations might be different, but they were also similar. They both almost lost their lives to a madman; who would come after them again if given the chance. They both fought and escaped death, but lost a part of themselves that day, a part they would never get back. They were both a part of a club that no one really wanted to be a part of; a survivors club.

"Are you okay?" Erin questioned her, when she noticed the down look on her face.

"Yeah." Noelle lied. She nodded toward the door, asking Erin to follow her, before the two walked over to it. "Becky's on the fence about testifying now. I tried to talk to her, but I don't know if it did any good or not."

"Thank you." Erin said with a half-smile, appreciating her for trying.

"Is there a chance she won't have to now? I mean he was here while she was-"

"Unfortunately we can't prove that." Erin interrupted. "He was on a public sidewalk, which just happened to be in front of the building, but there is no proof he actually knew she was here at the time. Which mean, Danny's going to have to release him."

"That's what I was afraid of." Noelle sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"All they can do for now is watch him."

"Let's hope that's enough." Noelle said, glancing over at Becky and hating that she had to go through this.

"You know Danny is not going to give up on this. And neither am I." Erin said.

"I know." Noelle said back. "But guys like Reed, they don't give up easy either."

Erin looked over at Becky, then back at Noelle, seeing similar expressions on their faces. She was suddenly very curious about what the two were talking about before she came into the room. Like she told Noelle earlier, she knew how to read people, she did it for a living, and from reading Noelle now, she was beginning to think something traumatic has happened to her.

Could she have come across her own version of Reed? Was there something terrible she was relieving every time she shut her eyes?

Only one person could answer those questions, but Erin knew now was not the time to ask. Not knowing what else to do, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Noelle, hoping for now that would be enough.

"What was that for?" Noelle asked curiously afterwards as she pulled back to look at the older woman; who had always been like a big sister to her.

"Just 'cause." Erin shrugged.

"Okay, well, thank you, I guess?" Noelle laughed. She gestured over her shoulder with a thumb as she added,"I should get back to work and I know you have a lot going on."

"Yeah, but we'll still get together very soon, okay?"

"Okay." Noelle nodded. She glanced over at Becky, waving bye to her, before she turned and walked out the door.

Erin glanced out the doorway, watching her as she walked down the hall, then stepped back into her office. She looked over at Becky, apologizing to her for everything, and asking her if she minded if she made a quick call before they talked.

Becky nodded her head saying it was okay. Erin shot her a smile to thank her as she reached into her coat pocket to pull out her cell phone.

After clicking on someone in her contacts, she placed the phone against her ear, hearing it ring a few times before there was a click on the other end, followed by a friendly voice saying,"Hey, sis."

"Jamie..." She responded, then added,"I think we should talk. It's about Noelle."

•••

 _A/N; Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to BLBLF, werks, BrookeErinMelton, Pompeii1224, Mrs. TylerLockwood, mcgeeksgirl, jlmayer, Chanel, Daniel Reagan, QueensGambit, Guest, lilnightmare17, SweetKittyCat, Guest and Love. Fiction. 2016 for reviewing._

 _Also, holy crap, thank you for getting this story to over 100 reviews! That is so mind-blowing and I'm just like, speechless. Seriously, thank you all :)_

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	10. Terrified

_Warning; this chapter is rated M because of a sexual assault incident that happens toward the end.  
_

 **10; Terrified**

It was dark, way past sunset, when Noelle arrived home. It had been a long day, seeing co-workers being let go and watching them exiting the building with a box of their stuff. Even her boss was fired because of all of this, which in her opinion wasn't fair, none of this was, but they needed a fall guy and unfortunately, he was it.

Then there was the run-in with Reed and trying to calm Becky down. It made her sick that he was able to roam around free, while Becky was the one feeling like she was locked up. She was the one having nightmares and having to constantly look over her shoulders. It wasn't fair, and it made her think about her situation with Jimmie way more than she wanted to.

She dragged herself down the narrow hallway toward the front door of her apartment. She paused for a moment, when she heard her cell phone ringing from her bag. With a sigh, she slipped her hand inside the bag and pulled it out. She glanced down at her phone, feeling her heart flip-flop when she saw it was Jamie calling.

"Hey." She softly said as she answered the call.

"Hey." Jamie said back, his tone matching hers. He was quiet for a moment, while she silently waited to see what he would say next. He let out a sign, then added,"I'm sorry, Nol."

She remained silent, wondering exactly what he was apologizing for; was it the kiss the night before, for leaving without saying a word, for taking so long to call her or all of the above?

"Don't be mad at me." He pleaded the longer she remained quiet. He could never stand it when she was angry with him when they were growing up. On the bright side, times before when she was, it never lasted long. He could always crack a joke to make her smile or if that didn't work there was always tickling her. Neither one of those would work right now though since they were on the phone and he wasn't in the mood for joking.

"I'm not mad at you, Jamie." She said with a sigh as she leaned back against the front door. "I'm just... honestly I don't know what I am." She blew out another sigh,"I'm-I'm confused and I'm scared... last night changed things and I'm so terrified of losing you."

"You're not going to lose me, Nol." He promised her.

"How can I not?" She questioned. "Things are never going to be the same between us. I'm always going to remember last night; I'm going to remember that moment we kissed and how it made me feel and all you're going to remember is that it was a mistake-"

"When did I ever say it was a mistake?" He cut her off to ask.

"Your absence this morning did." She answered, feeling the hurt just as much now as she did when she wake up and saw the couch was empty. She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, she lowered her eyebrows in concern when she heard a noise coming from the other side of the door, inside her apartment.

"Nol?" Jamie questioned when he heard her breathing pick up. "Nol, what's going on?"

"No." Noelle breathed out as she took a few cautious steps back from the door. "It-It can't be."

"Nol, what is it?" He asked, starting to worry for her. He could tell from the tone of her voice that something had scared her. "Nol, hey, listen to me, okay? Talk to me. Tell me what is going on."

"He's-He's here." She whimpered, knowing in her heart that Jimmie was on the other side of the door.

"Who? Who is there?" Jamie asked, really starting to freak out. "Nol, talk to me!"

Suddenly the front door popped open and her eyes went wide with fear when she was confronted with her worst nightmare. Jimmie gave her a smirk as he took a step toward her, causing her to let out a bloodcurdling scream. The phone slipped from her hand, crashing to the floor as Jamie yelled out her name.

She ran down the narrow hallway, her feet pounding against the floor as loud as her heart pounded in her chest. With her vision blurred with tears, she saw the entrance door ahead of her. It looked close, but felt so far away. She felt like if she could just get to it and get outside, she could get away from him. All she knew was, she couldn't be locked in somewhere with him again.

As she got closer to the door, she reached out to grab the handle, then felt Jimmie's arm snake around her waist before he shoved her forward, causing her body to slam against the door.

Jimmie ignored her cries and brushed her hair from the side of her neck before leaning forward and pressing his lips against her skin. He inhaled deeply, she smelled just like he remembered. When she began to wiggle around, trying to get out of his hold, he tightened his arm around her.

Raising his head, he placed his mouth against her ear and whispered,"I told you we'll be together again."

Noelle let out another scream as her eyes popped open and she sat up in her bed. She glanced around her dark bedroom and pushed her damp hair from her sweaty forehead; it was only a dream- it was all just a horrible nightmare.

She repeated that to herself several time as she waited for her heart rate to slow down; although she felt like it might never slow down. She was constantly tormented with thoughts of Jimmie coming back after her and since Reed and some of the others were released, it had gotten worse.

She pushed the comforter off of her body, then turned to place her feet on the floor. She looked over at her cell phone sitting on the table, then reached out to grab it, praying she had heard from Spencer. All she needed was one message from him telling her that Jimmie was still locked up, he had checked it out himself, and she would be able to relax, but unfortunately there was nothing. No call or text from Spencer. She also noticed she had nothing from Jamie either, which disappointed her more than she wanted to admit.

With a sigh, she stood up from the bed and shuffled down the small hall and into the living room. For peace of mind, she walked over to the windows, making sure they were still locked, then glanced over at the front door, pleased to see it was still locked up as well. She made her way into the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee, then went back into the living room.

When her eyes fell on the couch, Jamie crossed her mind, as did the other night and that kiss. It's no wonder that made its way into her dream since it was on her mind constantly. The longer they didn't talk, the more she was convinced that he was avoiding her, and the more she feared for their friendship. What if he felt like he could never be around her again? What if it was too awkward to talk? What if she lost her best friend?

Those questions and more ran through her head as she sipped her coffee and watched the sun rise. As the light filled the room, chasing away the shadows, she released a breath like she did every morning, thankfully that she made through another night and was now surrounded by light again.

Hearing her phone beep, she jerked her head to the side to look at it, her heart in her throat as she assumed it was Spencer with an update, but instead she saw Erin's name and picture pop up. She sat the coffee cup down, then picked up the phone, placing it against her ear after answering the call.

"Hey, Noelle, good morning." Erin said over the phone. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was just sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee before work." She answered. "What's going on?"

"I checked my schedule and I'm free tonight if you wanted to catch dinner and talk?" Erin suggested. She had to move a couple of things around, but she was able to find some free time for the younger girl. She knew something was weighing heavily on her mind, and she had questions for her herself. She hoped Jamie could answer some of the questions later that day when she met with him, but if not, she planned to get them straight from the source.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Noelle said as she nervously picked at a piece of thread that had come loose on the throw blanket laying on the couch. She had hoped she would have spoken to Jamie by now, but maybe she could at least get Erin's opinion on everything. Maybe someone with fresh eyes could see something she couldn't and help her figure out what to do now.

"You can come by my office after work, would that work for you?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Noelle said. "I'm not sure what time it'll be. Some days are later than others."

"Same here." Erin said with a laugh. "Some nights I am lucky to get out before midnight."

"Thankfully, I haven't had to stay that late... yet." Noelle said. "But with everything that happened lately and the lay offs, I wouldn't be surprised if it happens soon."

"That whole mess is why I'm having to work so late." Erin said. "I still have one I'm trying to keep from being released. He was convicted on three counts of sexual conduct on a child."

Noelle made a noise of disgust, then asked,"And there's a chance he could walk too?"

"There's a chance, but I have a plan." Erin said confidently. "if I can get two shrinks to say he's nuts, I can have him locked up."

"Very sneaky, counselor."

"I try." Erin let out a sigh, then added,"And then there's Reed."

"How's Becky?" Noelle asked. The other woman had crossed her mind often since her run-in with Reed hours ago.

"She's still shook up, understandably." Erin answered. "And she's changed her mind about testifying."

"I'm sorry, Erin." She said sincerely, she knew Erin was really counting on that for her case. "I could try to talk to her again." She suggested.

"It's okay, I'll still make this case even if Becky doesn't testify." She stated.

"That's good." Noelle said, happy to hear that. She was quiet for a moment as she thought about Reed and people like him, which also made he think of Jimmie and her own situation.

"I wonder what it was... what it was that made him fixate on her." She softly said in thought, almost like she forgot Erin was on the phone and she was just talking to herself. "I mean, what is it that she said or did that got his attention? Is there something else she could have done?"

Her voice dropped to barely a whispered as she continued,"Was it her fault?"

Erin lowered her eyebrows in concern at her questions. She couldn't help but think that Noelle was really talking about herself and not Becky. "In situations like this, it is never the victim's fault." She said, hoping the younger girl was actually hearing her words. Whatever happened to Noelle, it was almost like she was blaming herself, like she thought she could have done something different to keep it from happening.

"Noelle, are you okay?" Erin asked, feeling even more concern about her.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking out loud." She said, trying to shrug it off. She cleared her throat, knowing she needed to quickly end the call before she slipped and said something. "I should get going. I need to be at work soon, but I'll text you later tonight when I'm on my way."

"Okay." Erin said, a bit surprised about her quick turnabout. "We'll talk tonight." She stated, as if she was letting the younger girl know she was on to her and was not going to give up on finding out what happened.

"Okay." Noelle said, hoping by later that night, she would forget about her suspicions, but she had a feeling she wouldn't. Erin was not the type that would forget something like that. She, as well as most of the Reagans, did not let things go easy. She had a feeling her secret was not going to remain a secret for too much longer.

•••

That afternoon, Erin checked the time on her watch, then grabbed her briefcase. She was due in court soon, but before she went there, she had somewhere else she needed to be. She was meeting up with her brother Jamie outside the courthouse for a quick chat.

After seeing Noelle with Becky the day before, she was curious about the years she lived in Florida. She had no proof, just a feeling, but she felt like something had happened to her, and if anyone would know, it would be Jamie.

"Hey." Erin said minutes later when her brother walked toward her, then came to a stop in front of her. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course." Jamie said with a nod. "You said this is about Nol?"

"Jamie, what do you know about her time in Florida?" Erin questioned.

Jamie shook his head before answering, "Not much. She doesn't really talk about it. Just said she worked a lot." He looked at his sister closely, before he asked,"Why?"

"I think you know why." Erin said when she saw the concern look on his face. "Something happened to her down there."

"She told you?" He asked surprised as he took a step toward her, hoping this was it; he would finally learn what happened to her.

"No." Erin said with a shake of the head. "And I have no proof, but I've spoken to a lot of victims through the years; women who barely survived an ordeal and is now haunted by that." She paused for a moment, then added,"And all of those women, the scared look on their faces, look exactly like Noelle's."

"I've seen that scared look." Jamie admitted. "I've also seen the mace she carries in her purse, the baseball bat she keeps in her apartment and all the locks on her door. I've also seen a mark on her ankle. It was a deep cut and I thought I saw smaller marks near it, but she pulled her leg away before I could get a better look."

"What did she say about it?"

"She said it was always there."

"Maybe it was." Erin said with a shrug, looking at things from both sides.

"No." Jamie argued. "I know every inch of her body, it was never there before." At his comment, Erin raised her eyebrows at him, making him realize how that sounded. He stuttered a few times, then said,"I don't mean like that. I just mean any time she has gotten hurt growing up- I've been there, right by her side, and I've seen it all. The broken arm, the scratches, the cuts, the bruises... and there was never a cut on her ankle."

"From the things you have told me and the fact that she hasn't told you anything about it, leads me to believe it was something really bad." Erin stated.

"That's what I think too." Jamie said, feeling his heart break for her. All he could think about was worst case scenarios, someone hurting her, and he wasn't there to protect her- just like he couldn't protect his brother.

The siblings were quiet for a moment, both lost in their thoughts, until he spoke up and admitted,"I looked her up and I found a report."

"What did it say?" Erin asked, surprised at the revelation. If there was a report then that meant they were on the right path, something did happen to her.

"Not a lot." Jamie answered. "Most of it was sealed. It was basically her name and a male's name; someone named Jimmie Jenkins."

Erin repeated the name to herself, but had never heard of it before. What really got her though was that it was sealed. Most records were not sealed, unless the person was underage, which she wouldn't have been at the time. There were a few other reasons it would, special circumstances, but why would hers be sealed?

"Is there anyway you can unseal it?" Jamie questioned his sister.

She shook her head, before saying,"Not without a court order."

Jamie blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair as he glanced around for a minute. He looked back at his sister, a heartbroken look on his face as he softly said,"What am I going to do, Erin? I want to be there for her, I want to help, but I can't if she doesn't let me in."

Erin tilted her head for a moment, looking at him closely. "Something happened between you two."

Jamie's eyes widen, although he shouldn't have been surprised, she was a lawyer after all, and a damn good one. Instead of commenting he gave her a short nod to let her know she was right.

"What about Sydney?" Erin quietly asked as she took a step toward him. It's not that she would mind him being with Noelle, she always felt like there was something between them growing up, but she didn't approve of cheating and she knew her brother was better than that.

"It's over." Jamie said, dropping his head for a moment. He wouldn't lie, it still hurt him some that he lost her and they couldn't make it work, especially since he knew it was his fault. But as much as it hurt, he also couldn't help but think that maybe it would be for the best in the long run. Now he could finally be honest with himself and his feelings, he just hated that Sydney was hurt in the process.

"Because of Noelle?" Erin questioned.

"No... and yes. I mean, nothing happened until after Sydney called things off." Jamie said. He looked down at the ground for a moment, before raising his head and admitting,"I like her, Erin. And it's not like these feelings just came out of the blue, I always have, I've just been scared to really allow the feelings to go there... I still am."

"I knew it." Erin said with a grin. "I always knew there was something between you two."

"Yeah." He breathed out, a smile appeared on his face for a minute, before it fell and he added,"I just don't know what to do now. I don't want to lose her, if something goes wrong, I could lose her for good."

"Just follow your heart." Erin told him. "I know that is the most cliché advice I could give, but it is the best out there. You have to ask yourself, what do you really want? What will make you happy?"

He nodded his head as he thought about her questions and only one thing popped in his head, a person actually. He thought about the girl who had been a huge part of his past, the girl he always wanted in his present, and the one he hoped to spend his future with, and that girl was his very best friend; Noelle Kelley.

•••

Late that evening, Noelle walked out of the building and sent Erin a text, letting her know she was finished with the work day and on her way to the office. Erin texted her back, letting her know she was finishing up and should be ready by the time she got there.

The two buildings were not that far away, but the traffic took a few minutes longer. Close to ten minutes later, Noelle parked her car on the street as close as she could, then walked down the sidewalk the rest of the way.

As soon as she stepped into the building, she felt a chill down her spine and instantly felt uncomfortable. She glanced around for a moment, a lot of the lights were off for the night and most of the workers have already left, giving it a creepy and deserted feel. She told herself that was why she felt uneasy, it was her surroundings, there was nothing in here to get her.

She took in a breath, then slowly released it, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest. She took another shaky breath, then began to slowly walk down the hall, telling herself she would be in Erin's office soon, then once she wasn't alone anymore it wouldn't feel so scary. She told herself she was going to feel silly in a few minutes for freaking out over nothing.

As she got closer to the office, she lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she faintly heard an opera song playing. She told herself it was just normal Muzak that the office played, but deep down she knew that wasn't the truth. Like her work building, Erin's didn't play any Muzak.

She cautiously said Erin's name, hoping the older woman would answer her. When she thought she heard a noise behind her, she came to a quick stop and glanced behind her, her breathing picked up as she tried to see through the shadows. A part of her was terrified that someone; namely Jimmie, was going to jump out of her at any moment.

When she didn't see any movement, she turned her head back and let out a loud scream when she saw Reed standing in front of her. She quickly turned to flee down the hallway, almost tripping on her high heels and her bag slipping from her hands, but before she could take a step he grabbed her from behind and slammed her against a wall.

"Well, well, what do we have here? The little medical examiner." Reed said, pressing her back against the wall with his hands on her shoulders. When he saw her eyes widen at his comment, he shot her a smirk,"That's right, after our run in yesterday I looked you up."

She knew she should fight or do something, but she couldn't move a muscle. As her vision blurred with tears, it was like Reed had transformed into Jimmie in her mind. She couldn't stop the memories from hitting her of the time she was running through the house, going from room to room, trying to open any window she came across to escape, only to realize he had nailed them all shut. She remembered the helplessness she felt when she realized she was stuck and she was not getting out.

"Where is that spunk from yesterday? Hm?" Reed questioned as he moved one of his hands to her throat to hold her in place while his other hand went to her face. He ran his knuckles down her cheek, causing her to flinch,"I liked that. I love a girl with sass."

He moved his hand down to her mouth, running a finger over her bottom lip and pulled in a breath through his nose before announcing,"I really like this mouth. The words that come out of it... Mmm, I can't get enough."

He removed his hand from her face, then in one fluid motion, he ripped her shirt open, taking all the buttons off in the process. Noelle gasped in surprise, coming out of a daze. The situation reminded her a lot of Jimmie, but she knew no matter how scared she was, she had to fight. She could not let this happen to her again.

She let out a scream and tried to push away from the wall, but he pushed her back and took a step forward to lock her in place with his body. When he saw her open her mouth to scream again, he slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her and leaned his head closer to her ear as he shushed her.

He pulled back to look at her, then his eyes dropped down to her black bra and exposed stomach. His eyebrows raised when he saw a scar on her side, it was several inches long and looked like it was once a very deep knife cut.

He clicked his tongue, then ran a finger down the scar, causing her to cry out, her voice muffled against his hand. "Looks like someone else got to you first." He raised his eyes to look at her, a smirk on his face,"Too bad, I was hoping to be the first." He laid his hand flat on her side, covering the mark,"I bet you liked it, right?"

With his hand still covering her mouth she couldn't speak, instead she wildly shook her head as tears filled from her eyes. "Don't lie, I bet you did love it." He accused her as he began to move his hand up her side, his fingertips lightly grazing the skin under her bra.

At feeling his touch, she began to wiggle around, trying to get away from him, which only resulted in him wanting her more. He had always loved the ones who fought back, it made it that much more fun. She opened her mouth, causing his hand to slide down, the area of skin between his thumb and index finger was now near her teeth. Without even pausing to think about it, she bit down hard on that area, causing him to let out a roar of pain.

When he released her, she grabbed on to his shoulders and went to knee him between the legs, but he caught her leg and shoved her, causing her to crash to the floor on her back. She let out a scream and tried to crawl away when he moved toward her, but she wasn't quick enough. He grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her head against the wall, causing her to black out. He let go of her hair, watching her fall back to the floor.

A grin appeared on his face as he went to lean down and pick her up, but before he could grab her, Erin rushed over to him, planning to hit him with the fire extinguisher she took from one of the offices.

When she first came face to face with Reed earlier, she had ran down the hallway, getting away from him and hid inside one of the rooms. With everything going on, for a moment, she had forgotten that Noelle was even meeting her, until she heard the younger girl screaming earlier and knew that meant Reed had her. Erin didn't even hesitate as she stormed out of the room and rushed to her aid.

She swung the fire extinguisher, but Reed caught it, causing her to push it toward him and knocking him off-balance, before she turned to flee down the hallway. She assumed he would follow her, which would get him away from Noelle, and she was right. She could hear his pounding footsteps coming up behind her, before he tackled her and knocked her to the floor. She tried to crawl away from him, but he pulled her back toward him before straddling her.

Reed grabbed onto her dark-colored coat and pulled it down some, causing her arms to get trapped inside them. He tied it so she couldn't get loose, then reached back toward his back pocket and pulled out a knife.

"Where are you going? We're just getting started." He grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her head back, ignoring her cries,"We've got all night. And after I'm done with you, I'll give your little doctor friend a spin."

As Erin yelled out and tried to crawl away from him, he began to stand up and pulled her up with him. "On your feet. Come on, get up."

"No!" Erin screamed as she kicked her legs, refusing to do what he said.

After getting her on her feet, he pushed her face first against a wall, stepping closer to her. He brushed some of her hair aside and leaned closer to speak in her ear"I've been planning five years what I'm gonna do to you."

She let out a sob when he breathed in deep and laid a hand on her outer thigh. He closed his fist over the dark fabric of the dress she was wearing, causing it to ride up some. "Looking at those long legs of yours, crossing them and uncrossing them under the table. In that courtroom."

"Get your hands off of my daughter." She heard her father call out, causing her to cried out in relief at hearing his voice and knew he would save her.

Reed grabbed her as he stepped back, placing her in front of him as he faced Frank and saw a gun pointed at him. He smirked, assuming he wouldn't try anything as long as he was using his daughter as a shield.

"Dad." Reed said, taunting him. "You just try it-"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Frank squeezed the trigger and fired the gun, hitting him between the eyes and causing him and Erin to fall to the floor. As his daughter began to sob, Frank took a few cautious steps toward her, his eyes and gun still on Reed, once he realized the man was dead, he reholstered the gun, then kneeled down beside Erin.

He helped her to sit up and took her face in his hands as he asked her if she was okay. He was thankful when he saw she was psychically fine, just traumatized by what happened, for good reason.

He pulled her toward him and whispered words of comfort as she cried harder. She latched on to her father, burying her face in his shirt. Once she began to calm down, she remembered Noelle, causing her to softly say her name before she jumped up from the floor, stumbling slightly, then made her way down the hallway toward her.

Frank glanced over at Reed again, double checking that he was dead, then stood up with a confused look on his face as he walked in the direction Erin went in. He came to a stop when he saw Erin sitting beside Noelle, with her head resting in her lap. The other girl had a cut on her forehead and appeared to still be knocked out from earlier.

After calling for help, Frank pocketed his cell phone, then shrugged his coat off before kneeling down beside his daughter and Noelle. He lowered his eyebrows for a moment, briefly catching a glimpse of a scar on Noelle's side, but he didn't comment on it, and instead laid his coat over her to cover her up.

As they waited for help to arrive, he pulled Erin against him and wrapped an arm around her to lay it on Noelle's shoulder, he wanted both girls; the one who was his blood daughter and the other who was like a daughter, to know he was there for them and would always go above and beyond to protect them.

•••

A couple of hours later, Noelle was sitting on Erin's couch alone, staring straight ahead in a daze. Not long after help arrived, she finally came to and felt someone touching her, causing her to freak out until she heard Frank's voice, telling her everything was okay, it was all over, which she knew was a lie. Her past with Jimmie was proof that just because the monster was locked up, didn't mean you were free. The incident never leaves you.

She had slowly opened her eyes and saw a paramedic standing over her to check her out, which explained the feeling of being touched earlier. She had turned her head to the side, seeing Frank standing beside the stretcher, then saw Erin over his shoulder talking to Danny to give him a play by play account of what happened with Reed.

When a paramedic touched the scar on her side, she flinched and turned her head back to look at the older woman, then turned back to look at Frank, seeing that he saw the scar and had a ton of questions on his mind. She was thankful he didn't ask any though, he just silently watched as the paramedic continued to check her over.

Now here she sat on Erin's couch, in a long sleeve shirt and pajama bottoms Erin let her borrow to sleep in. The older woman didn't want Noelle being alone after what happened, and truthfully, she didn't argue because she didn't really want to be alone either.

She wrapped her arms around herself, laying one of her hands where she knew the scar was, she flashed back to when Reed was touching it and accused her of liking it. She squeezed her eyes shut, the memories mixing in her head, going from Reed touching her to Jimmie, then heard his voice asking her if she liked that as he continued to touch her.

Feeling a hand touch her shoulder, she jumped and snapped her eyes open, seeing Erin standing in front of her holding a cup of coffee in her hand. She held it out for her to take with a concern look on her face. She didn't know what all happened between her and Reed, Noelle had spoken to another officer about the incident. Erin had a sneaking suspicion it was because she didn't want herself or Danny to know exactly what happened to her; almost like she was trying to protect them from it. She couldn't help but wonder if that is why she was so secretive about Florida as well.

"How are you feeling?" Erin asked her as she sat down beside her.

Noelle took a sip of the coffee, then shrugged her shoulders, before saying,"My head hurts." Besides a cut and bruise on her forehead, she also had a mild concussion, but was cleared to go home once the symptoms passed.

"Did he hit your head?" Erin asked, getting a nod as an answer. She reached out to lay a comforting hand on Noelle's leg as she asked,"Noelle, did he-"

Knowing what she was going to ask, Noelle shook her head to cut her off, then said,"No. He was mostly all talk, you know? It was more about what he wanted to do, than what he did do."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Erin said sincerely as she gave her leg a pat before removing her hand. She couldn't help but feel guilty since she was the one who invited Noelle to meet at her office.

"No one should ever have to go through that." She added.

Noelle nodded her head in agreement and couldn't help but think to herself, especially more than once. She gave Erin a small smile as she said,"I'm sorry you went through it too."

Erin gave her a smile back and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Nicky walked into the room from the kitchen, grabbing their attention.

"Mom, I can't find the cookies." She announced. She knew cookies wouldn't solve anything, but she just felt like she needed to do something. She hated seeing her mother and Noelle going through something like this.

No one really gave her any details, all she knew was one of the convicted killers who was released had come after her mom and Noelle got caught in the middle when she had showed up to meet her mother for dinner.

"It's okay. We'll find them later." Erin told her daughter as she patted the couch, asking her to come sit down.

Nicky walked over to the couch, but instead of sitting down on the empty spot beside her mom, she motioned for the two women on the couch to scoot over, then sat down in between them. She rested her head on her mother's shoulder, then looped an arm through Noelle's arm, trying to give comfort to the both of them.

She wanted to tell them she was glad they were okay, but it was like no words needed to be said between the three, so instead they all just sat silently and gained strength from each other. The moment was something they all needed after what happened.

Minutes later, when they heard a knock at the door, Erin pressed a kiss against her daughter's head, then stood up to walk over to the door. She wasn't all that surprised when she opened it and saw her brother Jamie on the other side.

"Hey, I heard what happened, are you okay?" He asked, his words rushing out as soon as the door opened.

"I'm fine. Just shook up." Erin admitted as the two hugged.

"What about Nol?" Jamie asked panicky. "I've been trying to call her and I went by her apartment-"

"She's here." Erin cut him off and stepped back to open the door further.

Jamie breathed out a sigh of relief as he walked into the room and saw his best friend standing up from the couch. She took a step toward him, telling him hey, but before she could say much else, he strode across the floor and pulled her into his arms, the impact almost knocking her off balance, but he was holding her so tightly there was no way she could have fallen.

Erin silently watched the two for a moment with a knowing smile on her face, then lightly tapped her daughter's shoulder before nodded her head to the side, telling her to follow her as they left the room to give the friends privacy.

Jamie ran a hand up her back to cradle the back of her head as he took in a breath, the scent of her vanilla cake shampoo hitting him. Any confusion he'd been feeling before quickly went away as he realized this was exactly where he wanted to be and this was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her in his arms for the rest of his life. After hearing bits and pieces of what happened to her and his sister, he never wanted to come that close to losing her again.

He kissed the side of her head, then pulled back to look at her, resting both hands on either side of her face as his eyes scanned over her. He lightly ran a thumb over the bandage on her forehead as he asked her if she was okay. She nodded her head, finding it hard to find her voice. When he saw tears fill her eyes, he kissed her forehead near where the bandage was, then pulled her toward him again to hold her close.

"I'm sorry." Jamie softly said as he ran a hand through her hair, hoping to comfort her.

Noelle pulled back to look at him, giving him a small smile to thank him. The two looked at each other for a moment, before he apologized again, then nervously added,"And I'm also sorry for the other night... the uh, when I- when I kissed you."

"Oh." Noelle breathed out as she stepped back out of his arms. In her mind, if he was apologizing that meant only one thing; he regretted it.

She sat down on the couch and shook her head,"It's okay, you don't have to apologize. We were drinking and you were upset about Sydney, and honestly, after I woke up and saw you were gone without so much as a goodbye-"

"Whoa, wait, I didn't just leave." Jamie cut her off as he sat down beside her on the couch. "I left you a note."

"What? Where?" She asked.

"By your phone. On the nightstand."

Remembering she had reached out that morning to grab her phone without opening her eyes, she was starting to think that maybe she had accidentally knocked it down. She turned her head to look at him, explaining all of that and telling him it must have fallen on the floor.

She lowered her head and nervously pulled at a loose thread on the cuff of the long sleeve she was wearing, before asking,"So uh, what did the note say?"

"Not much." He answered. "Just thanking you for letting me crash and saying we needed to talk." A shy grin appeared on his face, before he admitted,"And honestly, that took me several minutes to come up with, because I wasn't sure what to say."

She softly chuckled at his comment, then raised her head to look at him,"Do you know what to say now?"

"If you would have asked me yesterday, I would probably say no." He began to say. "I was pretty confused about things and feeling a bit guilty-"

"It's okay." She interrupted. Truthfully, with the night she had, she knew she wasn't up to a long explanation of why that kiss was a mistake. She would rather just get it all out in the open at once, then she could go deal with the heartache afterwards. "I already kinda figured you regretted it-"

"No," He said with a shake of the head. He turned toward her, laying a hand on top of hers, stopping her from pulling at the loose thread any longer, something he knew she did when she was nervous. "Nol, I don't regret kissing you, the only thing I regret is the timing of it."

"Why didn't you just tell me that sooner?" She questioned.

"I had some things to figure out in my head first." He explained. "Honestly, I felt a little guilty. Sydney just gave me the ring back and I went right to you. Regardless of what happens, I don't want to hurt her worse than I already have by moving on too fast."

He lightly ran a thumb over the back of her hand and shot her a smile before adding,"Because the truth is... I like you, Nol. There is something real and strong between us and frankly, it's always been there. I've just been ignoring it because I'm scared... I'm scared of losing you and losing what we have."

She gave him a short nod, knowing exactly what he meant. She was just as terrified of losing him as he was of losing her, but she couldn't deny the fluttering in her stomach at his confession, she had many dreams growing up where he would say things similar to what he was now, only this time it was better, because it was real.

She laid a hand on the side of his face and smiled when he laid one of his on top of hers. His hazel eyes stared into hers as he shifted a little closer to her and began to lean toward her. He rubbed his nose against hers, then paused right before his lips touched hers.

As much as he wanted to kiss her right now, he also knew how important this kiss would be. This kiss would be the start of something, it would be a kiss where neither one was intoxicated or done on accident; this would be the real thing and he wanted to savor that.

He smiled when she breathed out his name, and he felt her breath on his lips. She moved her hand from the side of his face to the back of his head, her fingers going through his hair. Her breathing was labored as she closed her fist, lightly tugging on his hair, causing him to let out a low groan, while she waited for him to close the short distance and press his lips against hers.

Jamie was about to do just that until the two heard a surprised gasp, causing them to jerk apart and turn their heads to the side, seeing Nicky peeking her head out of the kitchen door to watch them, a huge grin on her face.

Noelle blew out a chuckle, before falling forward to hide her face against Jamie's shirt. She felt the rumble of laughter coming from him as he lowered his head to press his lips against the top of her head.

"Nicky!" Erin hissed when she caught her daughter spying on the childhood friends. She pulled her daughter away from the doorway, then looked over at the couple; who had turned their heads back toward the door by then. She threw up a hand to apologize, then told them she and Nicky were going to bed.

"You're welcomed to stay too." She told her brother, earning a nod from him to thank her. She told them goodnight, then lightly grabbed her daughter's arm to drag her down the hall to her bedroom.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I am back in high school and just got busted making out?" Jamie asked with a laugh once they were alone.

"'Cause that kinda just happened." Noelle said with a laugh of her own. "Well, minus the high school part... and actually the making out part too since we didn't technically-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off when his lips were suddenly pressed against hers. She chuckled against his lips, then laid her hands on the back of his neck as he moved his lips against hers for a gentle kiss.

"How's that?" He quietly asked afterwards as he pulled back some to rest his forehead against hers.

"That was a perfect first kiss." She whispered with a grin on her face.

Jamie pulled back completely to look at her with a confused look on his face. "First? That's more like the fourth."

"Yeah, but, do those others really count?" She questioned. "I mean, the first one, we were so young and had no idea what we were doing. Then it was the accidental kiss and then the drunk kiss. But this one..."

"Is no accident." He finished when her voice trailed off. He laid a hand on the side of her neck and smiled,"And I'm not drunk."

She smiled back and lightly ran a fingertip against his bottom lip. "And you definitely know what you're doing."

He chuckled at her comment, then lowered his head for a moment to kiss the inside of her wrist. He raised his head to look at her,"Do you want to have dinner with me later this week?"

"Yeah, just tell me where to meet you-"

"No." He interrupted. "I'll come pick you up."

"You mean like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date." He said, smiling. "I just figured, we've done the kissing part and that's good, so why not throw in dating too. Is that okay?"

Noelle grinned as she quickly nodded her head to answer, then let out a groan when the movement made her head hurt. As she poked out her bottom lip in a pout, Jamie lightly chuckled at her antics, before leaning forward and giving her forehead a tender kiss.

"You should get some rest." He suggested.

"Are you going to stay?" She questioned, remembering when Erin invited him to stay, and a huge part of her hoped he would.

"Do you want me to?" He asked back. When she gave him a short nod, he gave her one back in return, telling her he would stay then.

He turned his head to look at the recliner across from them, then looked back at her,"You can take the couch and I'll take the chair."

"Or..."

"Or what?" He questioned when she paused.

"We can both sleep on the couch." She suggested. The two have shared couches and beds in the past when they were growing up, so it wasn't that unusual of a request.

"We haven't went on a first date yet and you are already trying to sleep with me?" Jamie joked, earning a laugh from her.

"Shut up!" Noelle exclaimed as she playfully slapped his shoulder. Pointing at the couch, she said,"Just lay down."

Minutes later the two were laid out on the couch, him on his back with her laying on his chest and their legs intertwined. They talked a little back and forth until she suddenly stopped talking in mid-sentence and he realized she had fallen asleep. A soft smile appeared on his face as he kissed the top of her head, hoping her dreams would be pleasant after the night she had.

He didn't know all the details of what happened to her tonight or what happened in Florida, but one thing he did know, nothing like that would happen again. He would do whatever to protect her; he just wish he knew who he was protecting her from.

•••

 _A/N; Woo, I feel like this chapter was so intense. It was like a rollercoaster writing it. So Nol and Jamie are finally going to give it a go, at first I kinda worried it was too soon, but let's face it, this has been coming since the beginning lol._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to xoxo, werks, Blacklab369, lilnightmare17, Guest, mcgeeksgirl, Guest, jlmayer, Guest, BLBLF, Guest, traceyaudette, Guest, Love. Fiction. 2016, Guest, Guest and BrookeErinMelton for reviewing. Also a shout out to my bestie Sage Londyn as she slowly gets caught up!_

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	11. Questions With No Answers

**11; Questions With No Answers**

Next morning, Noelle let out a happy little sigh as she began to come out of a pleasant dream. Despite what happened to her and Erin the night before with Reed, other than a still present headache, she felt good. She felt light and free, and she knew that was thanks to Jamie.

Feeling something on her forehead, she slowly opened her eyes, and noticed right off the bat that she was on the couch alone. She reached up and pulled a post it note from her forehead, quickly recognizing Jamie's handwriting.

A chuckled escaped her lips when she read the words, he teased her about not being able to lose this note, then apologized for leaving before she woke up and promised to call her later that day.

Seeing her purse laid near the coffee table, she leaned forward to slip the note inside, then stood from the couch. After a quick stretch, she ran a hand through her hair and hoped to tame it some as she shuffled toward the kitchen door. She swung it open and saw Erin and Nicky inside the room. As soon as she walked in they both stopped what they were doing and stared at her, both had identical grins on their faces.

"Morning." Noelle said, walking further into the room and sat down on a stool across from Erin; who was standing on the other side of the counter drinking from a coffee cup.

Nicky called out a greeting before taking the last bite of her cereal. As she turned to the sink to put the bowl in it, Erin asked Noelle if she wanted a cup of coffee, then asked her daughter to make it for her when she said she would love one.

After placing a coffee cup in front of Noelle minutes later, Nicky stood beside her mother as the two stared at Noelle. She took a sip of the warm liquid with raised eyebrows, when she was done she sat the cup down then blew out a breath, before saying,"Okay, out with it."

"Why whatever do you mean?" Erin teased as she took a sip of her coffee, hiding a smile behind her cup.

"Come on, I know you two have like, a million of questions." Noelle explained as she shot the mother- daughter duo a look.

"Questions?" Erin repeated. She shook her head, then looked over at her daughter. "I don't think so. What do you think; do we have any questions?"

"Nope. None at all." Nicky said with a grin.

"I know what you two are doing." Noelle said as she playfully glared at them. "You're trying to act like you're not interested so I'll spill all the details."

Turning her attention to the older Reagan, she added,"It's the same thing you use to do to me and Jamie when we had a secret and wouldn't tell you. As soon as you acted like you didn't care or wanted to know, we will spill it." She gestured toward Nicky, before she joked,"And now you have taught the same trick to your daughter. Very shameful, Erin."

The older woman chuckled, but didn't say anything as she drank more of her coffee. Nicky looked in between her mother and Noelle, itching to ask the questions that has been on her mind since she saw Noelle and Jamie the night before. She tried to stay disinterested like her mother, but she couldn't do it anymore, she was about to burst and needed answers now.

"So are you and Uncle Jamie, like, together-together now? What all happened last night? Did you two-"

"Nicky!" Erin exclaimed, cutting off her daughter's rapid fire questions.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I tried, I really did, but I just had to ask." Erin apologized to her mother, before turning back to Noelle with a grin on her face as she waited for her to answer.

She had always hoped her uncle would date Noelle. It was nothing personal against Sydney, she was just always closer to Noelle. She was around the age now that Noelle was when she was born, and she had heard stories growing up about how she never once cried any time Noelle held her, it was almost like the two already had a special connection.

"Well?" The teenager pressed when Noelle stayed silent and drank more of the coffee.

She sat the cup down, then blow out a breath, before she saying,"To be honest, there isn't much I can tell you. This is all pretty new."

"How did it happen? Did you make the first move or did he? What about-"

"Nicky." Erin said, interrupting her daughter with a laugh. "Stop badgering her. Plus you need to get ready for school." She added, pointing out that she was still in her pajamas.

"I don't have school today, remember?" Nicky told her. "It's a teacher's workday."

"Oh, that's right." Erin said with a sigh, the information had slipped her mind. She checked the time on her watch, and blew out a breath, before saying,"I don't have time to drop you off at your grandpa's before work."

"I don't have to go, I can stay home." Nicky stated, earning a look from her mother. She was always nervous with leaving her fourteen year old daughter home alone. As an idea hit the teenager, she turned to look at Noelle with gasp. "Or I can just stay with Noelle."

"I don't know, it's not right to just spring that on her-"

"I don't mind." Noelle said, cutting Erin off. "I actually had a short shift today, but after what happened last night, they told me to just take the whole day off."

"You really don't mind?" Erin questioned her. She never minded Noelle being alone with her daughter, she trusted her completely, she just felt bad for springing this on her at the last minute, especially after the Reed incident.

"No, not at all." Noelle said with a shake of the head. "We can go catch a movie or something, then grab some lunch. Have a fun, girl's day out." She suggested, causing the smile on Nicky's face to widen as she nodded her head excitedly.

She turned to look at her mother as she asked,"Mom, can we?"

"Yeah, okay, that sounds fun." Erin said with a smile at seeing how happy her daughter was. She let out a laugh when Nicky held up her hand for Noelle to slap it before she let out a happy cheer. "I'll leave you some money and later can you just drop her off at dad's?" Erin asked Noelle.

"Yeah, I can do that. But you don't have to leave any money." Noelle said. "I'm a grown-up now, I have my own money." She joked.

The three continued to talk for a bit, mostly Nicky trying to get information out of Noelle; who would slyly try to change the subject. Minutes later, Erin wished them a good day as she left for work while the other two sat on the couch and flipped through channels to find something to watch on the television.

Nicky paused briefly when they came across a press conference and Frank was speaking at the podium. He was questioned about the shooting of Richard Reed and the indictment of Councilwoman Collins, but informed them that he couldn't talk about either one. When one of the reporters, Kelly Davidson, asked him how his daughter and Noelle Kelley were doing, she reached out to grab the remote from Nicky's hand and turned the television off before he could answer.

"How bad was it?" Nicky quietly asked with her head down. She paused for a moment to get control of her emotions, then raised her head to look at Noelle. "How badly did he hurt you and Mom?"

"Hey..." Noelle softly said as she turned to face her. Taking her hands in her own, she continued,"It doesn't matter. Don't worry yourself with this, he's gone and your mom and I are okay. That is all that matters."

"When I heard about it... I was so scared."

"I know." Noelle said with a nod, her voice barely above a whisper. "But he's gone, okay? He can't hurt your mom or me or anyone else, ever again." As the words left her mouth, her thoughts went to Jimmie- they didn't have to worry about Richard Reed anymore, but her first attacker was still very present in her mind. He was the one who could hurt her, he was the one she feared.

"I'm glad you're okay." Nicky said before she shifted forward and wrapped her arms around Noelle to hug her.

Noelle didn't say anything as she hugged her back and rested her chin on her shoulder for a moment. She was okay this time, but she couldn't say if she always would be.

Knowing they needed a mood changer, she pulled back, and brought up something she knew would cheer the younger girl up. "Would you like to help me with something?" She asked.

"Yeah." Nicky said with a nod.

"I need to figure out what to wear on my date, do you have any suggestions?"

Nicky's eyes widen as a smile appeared on her face, before saying,"Oh, my God, you and Uncle Jamie are together! Like you're really dating?"

"Yeah." Noelle said with a smile of her own at seeing how happy she was. "Well, I mean, it's the first date, but I'm hoping for more. You are okay with that, right?"

"Are you kidding?" Nicky asked. She was so excited she was basically bouncing in her seat. "I've been waiting for this day forever. It was even my wish a few times."

"What, you mean, like on your birthday?"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. "Several years in a row, that was always my wish, but then once he started dating Sydney I figured it would never happen, so I gave up on the wish."

"You should never give up on your wishes, Nickles." She said, calling her by the nickname she gave her years ago.

"Was Uncle Jamie your wish?" Nicky questioned.

Noelle couldn't stop the huge grin from appearing on her face as she nodded her head. "Yeah. Yeah he was."

"Then I guess it is true." Nicky said with a smile of her own. "Wishes do come true."

"I guess they do." Noelle said back, a smile remained on her face.

•••

Instead of seeing a movie, Nicky dragged Noelle to several different stores looking for the perfect first date outfit. Noelle was never a big fan of shopping, and she still wasn't, but she had to admit it was fun spending so much time with Nicky. The younger girl had an eye for fashion and would roam around a store and grab several different pieces, then place then in Noelle's arm before pushing her toward a changing room.

Noelle tried on countless of dresses and nice blouses, then exited the dressing room with a shake of the head, letting Nicky know she didn't find anything she liked. They put everything back, then Nicky began to look for more clothes for her to try on.

Nicky picked up a white dress with a flowy skirt, it was cute and she was about to reach out and take it from her, until Nicky turned it around to show her the back. The back was mostly exposed except for two thin straps that criss crossed the back.

She bit her bottom lip nervously, worried the dress wouldn't cover the scar on her side. She gave Nicky a shake of the her head, before saying,"That's a little too much for a first date."

"Are you kidding?" Nicky said back. "You'll knock Uncle Jamie's socks off. This dress is sexy."

"Nicole Reagan-Boyle." Noelle began to say with wide eyes, before teasing,"You are too young to even be saying that word, much less, picking out dresses like that."

"Fine." Nicky said with a overdramatic sigh before putting the dress back. "But you have to admit it is a sexy dress."

"Yes, but not on me." Noelle pointed out. "I would look like a hot mess in that dress, so let's keep looking."

"You would not, but maybe that should be more of a third date dress or something." Nicky stated. She grabbed a simple black skirt and black high heels, before asking,"What about this skirt with these shoes?"

"Skirt yes, shoes no." Noelle said. Usually when she wore skirts she paired it with boots to cover the scar on her ankle, she wore high heels with pants only. Sometimes she hated she had to take such precaution with how she dressed, but it was easier to do that than answer all the questions the scars would bring.

She glanced around for a moment, then picked up a pair of ankle boot, then said,"These would look cute with the skirt, right?"

"Yeah." Nicky said with a nod. "Now just need a top."

After trying on several more shirts, they finally settled on a colorful blouse. She bought the outfit, then the two girls walked out of the store with their stomachs growling. They decided to grab a hot dog from a street vendor, then began to walk down the sidewalk as they laughed and joked while eating their late lunch.

Noelle had just taken a big bite of her hot dog when she heard her cell phone ringing. She let out a surprised grunt as she came to a stop, then held her bag out toward Nicky and nodded toward her, asking her to grab her cell phone and answer the call.

"Hello, Noelle's phone." Nicky said, answering the call.

"Nicky? Is that you?" Jamie asked, recognizing his niece's voice.

"Yeah, hey, Uncle Jamie." She said back.

"Hey, is Noelle with you?"

"Yeah, she's eating a hot dog."

"Ah. " He said with a laugh. "That explains everything."

After swallowing the bite of food, Noelle held out her hand, waiting for Nicky to pass her the phone. She told her uncle bye, then passed the phone over to Noelle.

"Whatever you are thinking, don't say it." She playfully warned as she put the phone against her ear, assuming he was gonna make a joke about how much she loved food.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He said with a laugh.

"Liar." She joked with a laugh of her own.

He laughed with her, then asked,"So, did you get my note or did you knock it in the floor too?"

"I never knocked the first one down." She pointed out, then added sarcastically,"But yes, I did get it, neat trick sticking it to my forehead, goof."

"Hey, I had to make sure you got it this time." Jamie said. "I didn't want you to think I just left again. I really wanted to stay until you woke up-"

"It's okay. I know you had to work." Noelle cut him off.

"Yeah, but it was more because of the snoring than the job." He joked.

"Ha-ha."

He laughed at her comment, then grew serious as he softly asked,"Is it too forward to say I enjoyed waking up with you in my arms this morning?"

A grin appeared on her face as she glanced over beside her, seeing that Nicky was distracted with her hot dog to overhear what they were saying. She matched his tone as she said back,"Is it too forward to say I enjoyed falling asleep in your arms last night?"

"No." He simply said with a smile. Once he allowed himself to be honest about his feeling for her, it was like a floodgate had opened, and now there was no way he could ever push those feelings back.

Now all he could think about was her; he wanted to start his days with her, he wanted to come home to her and he wanted to end each night with her. He knew that might be kinda insane and fast, since they haven't even had a first date yet, but it's not like they were starting from the beginning. They spend years getting to know each other and built up to this. It just took him longer to get there.

"Then no for me too." She said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "It's not too forward."

He smiled again at her words, then asked,"So how are you feeling today?"

"I'm okay."

"You were attacked last night, Nol, how are you okay?" He asked with a concerned tone. He had a feeling it was because she wasn't dealing with what happened to her, she was working hard to put it out of her mind, making him wonder if she was doing the same thing with whatever happened to her Florida.

"I'm okay, Jamie. Really." She stated, not wanting him to worry. She opened her mouth to reassure him some more until she turned her head and noticed Nicky wasn't standing beside her. She snapped her head from side to side, her eyes searching each face around her, trying to find the missing teenager.

"Nicky? Nicky!" She called out as she turned around, then turned to the other side. She gasped and felt her heart pounding when she thought she saw someone she never wanted to see again in the middle of a crowd, but when the crowd parted all she saw was an empty space, and luckily no Jimmie.

She shook her head, telling herself that maybe she never saw him, maybe it was just her imagination, but either way, she would feel a lot better when she did see Nicky and had her safely by her side.

"Nol, what's going on?" Jamie asked as she called out his niece's name again.

"I can't find Nicky." Noelle breathed out as she spun around again, looking for her. "I-I can't find her and he's out there. Or-Or at least he could be, I don't know. I don't know if it's just my mind playing tricks on me or what-"

"Nol, what are you talking about?" He asked, interrupting her frantic rambling. "Hey, Nol, listen to me, okay baby? Just listen to my voice and take a deep breath." He waited for a minute, until he heard her do what he suggested, then he added,"Now tell me, who is out there? And where is Nicky? Did she run into a store for something? Are you sure she didn't find a place to go sit?"

He was seconds away from freaking out himself, but was trying to stay level-headed. His niece was raised around cops, meaning she knew the precautions to take; like never talking to strangers or go anywhere with one, but she still had a bad habit sometimes of wandering off to grab something.

"I-I don't..." She nervously began to say, until she heard Nicky call out her name. She spun around and blew out a sigh of relief when the teenager jogged down the sidewalk toward her with a smile on her face, never realized seconds ago Noelle was in a panic and worried about her.

"Hey, I went back to grab napkins. And I was thirsty." Nicky said, explaining where she went while holding up some white napkins and a bottle of water. Seeing the worried look on her face, her smile faded as she asked her what was wrong.

Noelle didn't answer and instead wrapped an arm around her to pull the teenager toward her for a hug. Nicky pulled back to look at her, seeing the forced smile on her face, causing her to ask again,"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The older woman breathed out. "Everything is fine. I just- I didn't know where you went. I was worried." She forced out a chuckle as she added,"Plus your mom would have killed me if something happened to you."

"I'm sorry." Nicky said sincerely, she wasn't even thinking when she went back over to the vender for napkins and a drink. After Noelle shook her head, telling her it was okay, the younger girl held out her hand, asking for the cell phone to speak to her uncle. Without a word, she passed the phone to the teenager.

"Hey, Uncle Jamie? Guess what we've been doing all day?" Nicky asked over the phone, slipping back into her happy mood.

"No, what?" Jamie asked, half distracted. He couldn't help but think about how distraught she sounded earlier and he wondered if the 'he' she was referring to was the name on the report he saw- Jimmie Jenkins.

"We've been shopping and found the perfect outfit for the date." Nicky said happily. "She's going to look beautiful." She added while looking over at Noelle with a smile. She lowered her eyebrows for a moment, seeing how distracted Noelle looked as she glanced around- like she was looking for someone.

"She always does." Jamie pointed out.

Seeing that she wasn't paying attention, Nicky asked her uncle,"Where are you taking her?"

"I'm not telling you." Jamie said with a laugh.

"Because you don't know?" She guessed.

"No, I have some ideas." He said vaguely. Realizing his break was coming to an end, he said,"Hey, I need to get back to work, tell Nol I'll call her later, okay?"

"Okay." Nicky said, telling him bye then ended the call. She handed the phone back to Noelle, then repeated the message. As Noelle nodded her head at her words and slipped the phone back into her bag, Nicky couldn't stop herself from asking her again if she was okay.

"I'm fine." Noelle lied as she flashed her a smile. Throwing an arm around her shoulders, she added,"Just a little tired from the all day shop-a-thon. Are you about ready to head to your grandpa's?"

"Yeah, let's go." Nicky said as she two began to walk down the sidewalk. Turning her head to smile up at her, she said,"Thanks for hanging out with me today."

"Thank you for hanging out with me." Noelle said back. "I had a lot of fun with you today."

"Me too." Nicky said, with a smile still on her face. Noelle smiled back at her, then turned to look over her shoulder, the smile fading.

She still wasn't sure if seeing Jimmie earlier was all in her head or if it was real. She wanted to believe it was just her imagination- that she was still shaken up by the attack the night before, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was out there, that he was toying with her until he striked again- just like last time.

•••

Before taking Nicky to Frank's, she stopped by her parent's house first; wanting to visit with them and Nicky begged to come with her. She was ecstatic to see that her mother was having a good day, and the older woman was excited to see Nicky, she sat beside the teenage and told her stories after stories of when she was a baby.

Afterwards, the three went into the kitchen, Evie wanted to share a cookie recipe with them, one she saw on a cooking show the week before. While they were in the middle of baking, her father appeared in the doorway and motioned for his daughter to follow him. Noelle nodded her head in understanding, then told the others she would be back.

She wiped her hands off on a hand towel, then followed her father toward the back of the house and into his office. She lowered her eyebrows in concern when he shut the door behind her.

"Dad? Is everything okay?" Noelle asked nervously. "Is it Mom?"

"No, I just wanted to check in with you." Her father, Byron, said. "See how you were feeling?"

She was confused for a moment, until she realized what brought this on. Her face fell as she softly said,"You heard."

"Yeah. I had to hear on the news that my daughter... my little girl, was attacked by a serial killer." He said, a hurt look appeared on his face. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want to worry you, Dad." She said honestly. "You already have your plate full with taking care of Mom; I didn't want to add to that."

He gave her a warm smile and took a step toward her, he laid a hand on the side of her face, before saying,"I always have room on my plate for you, bitty bug."

Noelle smiled at him using the nickname he gave her when she was a baby. She stepped forward to wrap her arms around him, apologizing for not calling him. She stepped back, then added,"But, I am okay. I'm sure it's not as bad as the reports made it out to be. You know the news always makes things sound worse than they really are."

"What happened?" Byron questioned.

"The details aren't important, Dad." Noelle said. "Bottom line, before anything bad could happen, Frank showed up and shot him. He saved us."

"I'll have to send him a bottle of his favorite to thank him." Byron said. "I'm pleased that monster is dead, if Frank didn't kill him, I would have myself." He swore.

Noelle couldn't stop her mind from going to Jimmie and was relieved that her father never found out about what happened. She was forever thankful that Spencer was able to seal the report about her, somehow he made it so even reporters wouldn't be able to put her name to the story. People in the city she lived in knew the story and some even knew it was her, but thankfully that story never made its way to New York. She knew if her father knew what happened to her it would destroy him and she couldn't allow that to happen.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that, Dad." She said with a small smile. "Because the monster is gone." She added, she just wished she could promise him the other one, the monster she was really scared of, was gone as well, but she couldn't.

"That's good to hear." He said before giving her a kiss on the side of her head. He sniffed, then said,"I smell your mother's cookies. Wanna help me steal a few?"

A genuine smile appeared on her face as she remembered how her father use to do that when she was younger. While she and Jamie made cookies with her mother, he would always come in and steal a few when they weren't paying attention. He thought he was sly in taking a few, but they always knew he was taking them. They just never said anything, it was a fun little game for them all.

"Yeah, let's do that." Noelle laughed as he wrapped an arm around her and the two left his office.

After having too many cookies and watching a movie with her mother, Noelle finally arrived at the Reagan's a couple of hours later. Nicky ran inside and hugged her grandfather and great-grandfather, then handed a plate of cookies to the latter.

As Nicky and Henry left the room to go into the kitchen for a snack, Frank asked her if she wanted a drink as he began to pour himself one. She shook her head, thanking him for the offer, but telling him she needed to get back on the road and head home.

He nodded his head at her answer, then asked,"How are you feeling?"

"Okay." She answered for what felt like the millionth time that day. She hoped the more she said, the more it would be true.

"You and Erin were lucky last night." Frank said.

"We were." Noelle said in agreement. "We were lucky that you came when you did. I don't even want to think what would have happened if you didn't."

He took a sip from the glass in his hand, he had a feeling she already knew first hand the type of things that could happened, but he didn't speak of any of that. Instead he just silently watched her for a moment.

She knew from the look on his face that he wanted to ask her questions, but she knew how he was. He never came right out and asked, he would just stare at you long enough until you finally gave in and brought it up yourself. She and Jamie both fell for that a few times growing up.

"I know you saw it." She quietly said, breaking the silence minutes later.

He nodded his head, knowing what she was referring to. "I did." He said back.

When he didn't say anything else, she continued,"And I know you have questions."

Frank nodded again, before saying,"I do."

Noelle blew out a nervous breath, then took a step toward him. "Frank, you know how much I love and respect you, you have always been like another father to me, and the last thing I want to do is lie to you, so please don't ask me to. Just let it go."

He looked at her closely for a moment, as if deep in thought, then said,"It's not about if I can let it go, the question is, can you?"

He paused for a moment, even though they both knew she wouldn't answer, then he continued,"Because I'm guessing whatever caused that scar on your side, it wasn't anything good, and the way you are reacting to the attack last night, tells me that's not the first time something like that has happened to you. I also have a feeling that you've buried your feelings inside and not dealing with what happened to you."

He saw her chin quivering, like she was trying to keep her tears at bay. "But things like this, always has a way of coming back if you don't face them. Whatever happened, you need to deal with that, Noelle."

The tears she was trying to hold back filled her eyes as she softly admitted,"But it's hard. Frank, it is too hard going back there... to-to think about it."

"I know." He said, his tone matching hers. He laid a hand on her arm, giving it a small squeeze. "But you're not alone anymore. You don't have to deal with it alone. You're with family, you're home."

She repeatedly nodded her head at his words, then as more tears fell down her face, she stepped forward and fell into his arm as a sob finally broke loose. She buried her face in his shirt as she felt him wrap an arm around her, holding her in a way he would hold any of his children when they cried.

She still didn't feel ready to talk about what happened, but being able to break down and cry about it, without having someone push her for answers. felt a bit freeing. She still had a long road of recovery ahead of her, but she hoped this was a step in the right direction.

•••

 _A/N; I know this chapter was on the short side and a bit of a filler, but it was nice having her interact with some of the other Reagans. Not gonna lie, the scene with Frank made me tear up while writing it. Sorry there wasn't much Nol x Jamie in this chapter, but they do have a date coming up. I just hope he does really have ideas lol._

 _Thank you for everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to jlmayer, traceyaudette, werks, xoxo, Guest, CourtneyD4494, lilnightmare17, Guest, BLBLF, BrookeErinMelton, Mrs. TylerLockwood, Chanel, QueensGambit, BlueBlood82, mcgeeksgirl and Love. Fiction. 2016 for reviewing. Also thanks to my bestie Sage Londyn for still getting caught up!_

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	12. Five Confessions and a Kiss

**12; Five Confessions and a Kiss**

Noelle wasn't at work for long when she got a call about a body. She grabbed her bag and was out of the office within minutes. She glanced around for her co-worker, Will, but was informed that he was out picking up another body. She nodded her head at the information, then made her way toward the exit with plans to give him a call later.

She headed across town and parked near a few police cars, then made her way toward the river as a body was being pulled from the water. She glanced down at the body, getting first impressions before she got to work. Right away, she could tell the girl wasn't in the water for long.

After living in Florida she had seen several bodies that were underwater for too long. Most were accidental drownings, but some were crime related. Either way, she had seen what water could do to a body when it was in it for too long, but this one looked fresh. Plus there was the fact that this girl still had her makeup on, which also pointed to the fact that she hasn't been under for long.

Hearing someone walk up and come to a stop beside her, she turned her head and smiled when she saw it was Jamie. He grinned at her and gave her a small nod, but kept his mouth shut. He didn't trust himself to speak to her because he was worried he would say something inappropriate for where they were at. Since they were at work, they needed to be professional.

"Is this is how it's going to be now?" Renzulli questioned as he walked over to the couple, getting their attention. As they turned their heads to look at him, he added,"Anytime you two are on the job, I'm gonna have to watch you make goo-goo eyes at each other?"

The two blushed and avoided looking at each other to keep from being distracted, but Jamie couldn't stop himself from glancing over at her from the corner of his eye as she placed her bag on the ground and opened it before grabbing a pair of gloves to get to work.

"Sad. Beautiful young girl." Renzulli stated as he watched Noelle squatted down beside the body.

"Still has makeup on too." Jamie spoke up. "Must have just happened."

Noelle turned her head up to look at him, impressed that he picked up on the same thing she did earlier.

"Wow, so when I talk about my job, you actually listen?"

"I listen to everything you say, Nol." Jamie said, flashing her a smile.

"Good to know you listen to someone, rookie." Renzulli said, getting their attention. "I was starting to think you had a hearing problem."

"I don't have a hearing problem." Jamie said to his partner, than added as a joke,"I just usual ignore you most days."

"Watch it, kid." Renzulli joked back.

"Don't take it personal, Renzulli." Noelle said, standing up. "He usually ignores me too, which is why I am so surprised when he does listen."

"You're joking, right?" Jamie said, shooting his friend a look. "Listening to you is why I got in trouble 90% of the time growing up. You were always daring me to follow you or to back you up with some big plan you had, then once we got caught- which almost always happened, we got in huge trouble for it."

Pausing for a moment in thought, he added,"Well actually I was in big trouble. You would usually turn on the water works and get away with it."

"I did that once." She argued, holding up a finger to get her point across. "Plus I seem to recall the tears got us both out of trouble that day."

"Yeah, with your dad, but then I had to go home and tell my dad about it and he wasn't as understanding." He pointed out.

"I never knew that."

"Why do you think I was grounded for a month?" He questioned. When she shrugged her shoulders, he added,"It was for the whole summer, but Mom talked him down to a month."

"I'm sorry, Jamie." She said sincerely. A smile appeared on her face as she joked,"But you could have said no at any time, you know?"

"You dared me." He pointed out, like that was the most obvious explanation and to him it was. She pulled him into a lot of messes growing up because she dared him to do it and he couldn't back down.

"I'm starting to think you two were a bunch of hellions growing up." Renzulli said, looking between the couple and playfully shaking his head at them.

"It was all her." Jamie said, nodding his head over toward the brunette. "She was the ringleader."

"Always blaming me." She mumbled, before getting back to the task at hand. She looked down at the poor girl whose life was cut too short, then said,"He's right though, this is recent."

"Hm, maybe you have learned a thing or two, rookie." Renzulli said to his partner. "Of course, it's not up to us to speculate. We secure the scene, and then we wait."

"Here comes the brain trust now." He added, looking off to the side and saw a couple of suits coming toward them. Recognizing the man in the lead, he said,"Just our luck. Sonny Malevsky."

"That's Sonny Malevsky?" Jamie questioned, causing Noelle to turn her head to look at the man in the suit. She looked back at Jamie, wondering who this Sonny Malevsky was.

"Yeah, why?" Renzulli questioned him.

"Just..." Jamie paused for a moment, realizing he couldn't spill the real reason he was curious about the man. "I think he used to work with my brother Joe." He added, aware that Noelle was watching him closely. She could tell there was another reason he was asking.

"Renzulli." Sonny greeted as he got closer to the trio. "Ah, you finally got your stripes. Mercy promotion?"

"Don't bust my chops, alright?" Renzulli said back.

"Who's the newbies?" Sonny questioned as his eyes landed on Jamie and Noelle; who were now standing side by side. He turned his attention back to Renzulli as he added,"You babysitting?"

"I feel like it." Renzulli joked as he cut his eyes to the couple.

"I'm the ME. Noelle Kelley." She stated, stepping forward to shake his hand.

"Nice. An ME who actually shows up. You must be new and eager." Sonny guessed, judging her wrongly. Before she could say anything back, he turned toward Jamie, seeing the last name on his name tag. "Reagan. So you're the PC's youngest."

Jamie didn't say anything back, instead he just nodded his head, then reached out to grab the back of Noelle's blazer and pulled her back the few steps she had taken earlier. If his feelings were right about Sonny, he didn't want her anywhere near him. He wanted to keep her off of his radar.

"Is this your first floater, kids?" Sonny questioned them. After Jamie answered with a yeah, he added,"Well, looks fresh. You should see 'em after a couple of weeks, after the fish and the crabs get to 'em."

"Let's see what we got." Sonny said, kneeling down by the body. He glanced at Noelle for a moment, before he added,"If you're gonna be sick, sweetheart, you might want to step aside."

As he looked back down at the body, Jamie saw her open her mouth to say something rude back, causing him to step up behind her and slap a hand over her mouth to stop her. He shot her a warning look before removing the hand.

A fake smile appeared on her face as she looked over at Sonny. "FYI, Detective Malevsky, this might be Officer Reagan's first floater, but it's not mine. I can handle it."

"Suit yourself." Sonny said back, before turning his attention back to the body, missing the look she shot him.

"You two probably think she jumped from the Manhattan bridge and floated down, right?" Sonny questioned as he lifted his head to look at the ME and rookie cop.

"Actually, I don't think that." Noelle said, folding her arms across her chest. "If she had, there would be signs of that. As hard as she would have hit, there would be contusions present on her body, but as you can see..." She squatted down on the other side of the body and motioned toward it. "There are none."

When Sonny looked over at her, she shrugged her shoulders. "Told you it's not my first floater." She brushed some of the damp hair from the dead body's neck. "She would have a broken neck though."

When the small group saw the purplish bruise around her neck- like someone had strangled her, Sonny spoke up,"Looks like somebody did that for her."

"Let's see if there's anything in these pockets." He added, but instead of moving toward the pockets, he looked over at Noelle instead.

Lowering her eyebrows in confusion, she asked him,"What?"

"Glove." He simply said. She held back an eye roll and opened her medical bag to grab one of the many set of white gloves she kept in there. He slipped then on, then reached into one of the front pockets and pulled out a small business card.

"Detective Daniel Reagan." Sonny said, reading the card. As Noelle looked over at Jamie with wide eyes, he continued,"Now, there is one for the small world department."

He pulled out a small evidence bag from his jacket pocket and placed the card inside. "Renzulli, looks like this one's gonna be a homicide." Turning his attention to Jamie, he added."Hey, kid, maybe you want to call your brother. He might want to come down here and finish what he seems to have started."

Sonny didn't say much more to them as he stood up and walked over to his partner to tell him what he found, before the two began to question witnesses and the other officers involved. Noelle grabbed her bag and stood up, seeing Jamie and Renzulli walk over to the yellow crime scene tape to ask a reporter to leave. She pulled out her cell phone to send her co-worker a text, then got one right back saying he was already on his way.

She looked back over to Jamie, seeing that he was busy and decided not to bother him. She turned and began to walk away from the river, heading for her car to wait for her co-worker. She put her bag into the car, then turned her head when she heard someone call her name. She smiled and shut the car door when she saw it was Jamie.

"Hey, are you really leaving without saying bye?" He questioned her as he came to a stop in front of her.

"No. I'm just waiting on my co-worker and you were busy, so I didn't want to bother you." She answered while leaning back against her car.

"You never bother me, Nol." Jamie softly said as he reached out to lightly touch her hand, wishing he could hold it or even pull her into his arms, but they were surrounded by co-workers and needed to remain professional.

"Good to know." Noelle smiled as she linked her pinky with his. She only held onto it for a minute or two, then released it before anyone could see. She folded her arms across her chest to keep from reaching out to him, then said,"I'll tell you one thing, I'm not a fan of Detective Malevsky. How dare he try to suggest that Danny had something to do with this."

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's clear that it's someone he probably came across before and was just trying to help."

"Exactly." She agreed with him. "I could tell you weren't a fan either."

"I don't know him enough to know what I think." He said, not wanting to get into his real thoughts about the man. If he did that then he would have to tell her about the blue Templar and now was not the time for that. Sometimes he wondered if there would ever be a time for that, the last thing he wanted to do was put her in danger.

"That might work with anyone else, but it won't work with me, Jamie." She pointed out. "Who is this guy?"

"Like I said before, I think he worked with Joe." He said, hoping that would be enough for her, and maybe it would have been if she didn't see him tap his finger against his leg- something she knew he did when he was hiding something from her.

She tilted her head to the side, watching his finger nervously tap his pant leg a couple more times. Shooting him a look, she said,"Seriously, Jamie, what is going on? And don't lie to me."

"I just- I'm still figuring some things out." He said, taking a few steps to stand in front of her. "Just give me a little time, okay?"

A worried look appeared on her face as she began to ramble,"Is everything okay? You're not trouble or anything, right? Did something happen-"

"Hey, shh..." He softly said. He placed his hands on either side of her on the car, then leaned forward- trapping her between his body and the car. His eyes scanned her face, seeing how his presence was affecting her; hers was doing the same to him.

Smiling down at her, he added,"Everything's okay."

"Yeah?" She questioned. When he gave her a short nod, she whispered,"Okay."

"Okay." He repeated, then had to hold back a groan when she bit her bottom lip. He would have loved to lean closer to her and bite that bottom lip himself, but he knew he couldn't right now.

Remembering where they were, he pushed away from the car and took a few steps back. With a smile, he asked,"Are we still on for tonight? I mean, you do still want to go out with me, right?"

"Did you seriously just ask me that?" She laughed. "I've been waiting for years for you to ask me out. I would go out with you right now if I could."

Jamie chuckled at her comment, then nodded his head as he said,"I would too. Actually, there is a lot I would do to you right now if I could."

She let out a dramatic gasp, her mouth dropped open before joking,"Jameson Reagan, are you trying to get fresh with me?"

"I'm trying." He joked back with a wink.

Noelle laughed at his comment and felt her cheeks blush. She wasn't use to this version of Jamie- the flirty side of him, but she could get use to it.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, she saw her co-worker pull into the parking lot, reminding her that she had a job to do.

Turning her head back to look at Jamie, she said,"So, I guess I'll see you tonight?"

He nodded his head, before saying,"I get off at 7, so I should be at your place around 8, is that okay?"

"Sounds great." She said. "And where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He grinned.

"Really?" She asked as she playfully narrowed her eyes at him. "Or is that just your way of saying you have no idea?"

"I have ideas!" He exclaimed, causing her to laugh as she began to walk away.

She turned to face him and shot him a smile, before calling out,"I can't wait then."

"Me too." He said back with a smile of his own.

When she turned to walk over to her co-worker, his smile fell. Now he just needed to find a way keep her from asking about the blue Templar, as well as, protect her from someone he didn't even know... Oh and plan the best first date ever. No pressure at all.

•••

Later that evening, Jamie checked the time, seeing that he still had an hour to go before his tour was over and two hours until the big first date- meaning he only had two hours to combine all the ideas he had in his head to come up with the perfect date.

This has been building for years; the bond and the feelings between them and now he finally had a shot.

Sitting silently across from his partner during their lunch break, he took a sip from the drink he was nervously passing from one hand to the next. He had declined the food, his stomach was already in knots and he didn't think he could stomach anything more than liquids.

Needing a distraction, he glanced over at his partner as he asked,"How'd the anniversary go?" The selfish part of him hoped whatever Renzulli did for his wife, maybe it would spark an idea he could use for his date with Noelle.

"It was good. I got my wife a snow globe." Renzulli answered. Seeing the disappointed look on Jamie's face and misunderstanding it, he added,"I know it's, uh, too lowbrow for your Harvard tastes, but my wife loves snow globes."

"Fake snow... I get the appeal." Jamie joked as he took another sip from the straw. "I actually gave Nol a snow globe once for her birthday." Which was the real reason he looked disappointed, there was no way to use the idea now since he had already done it.

"Not bad, rookie. Maybe there is hope for you after all." Renzulli teased.

Jamie chuckled at his comment, then explained,"She was living in Florida at the time and I didn't want her to forget her home was here." With a shrug, he added,"Plus she loves snow, so it was perfect for her."

"My wife would love her." Renzulli smiled. "She always gets excited when it snows. The first snowfall of the season is practically a celebration in our house."

"Same with Nol. She always drags me out in it to have snowball fights and make snow angels." Jamie laughed. As memories hit him of their childhood, he added,"I'm usually standing there freezing to death, while she's running around without a care in the world and a huge grin on her face. It's like it doesn't even bother her."

Renzulli silently watched him with a knowing smile on his face. If he didn't know before how he felt about his best friend, it was clear to see it now.

He finished off the cheeseburger, then stood from the table and gathered his trash. He snapped his fingers in front of Jamie's face when he saw that he was lost in thought, then motioned toward the door to let him know he was done and it was time to go.

Needing a break from trying to plan a date in his head, he looked over at Renzulli as they walked out of the small restaurant, then asked,"Tell me how you know Sonny Malevsky."

"Why are you so interested in that putz, huh?" Renzulli questioned.

"I'm just curious." Jamie said as he threw his drink in the trash, hoping he seemed nonchalant asking since he didn't feel so cool, calm and collected.

"Well, some guys become cops because they love law enforcement, some guys for job security, some guys because they don't know what else to do." Coming to a stop beside the patrol car, he added,"And then you got guys like Malevsky who's just on a big power trip."

Jamie nodded his head in understanding, then asked,"Anything more than that?"

"What, like, corruption?" Renzulli asked. When Jamie gave him a small shrug, he added,"Let's just say I think that he's someone... when you're talking to him, you better have one hand on your wallet. Know what I mean?"

As Jamie gave him another nod, he playfully reached out to slap his arm, then said,"You should worry less about Malevsky and more about your date. It's tonight, right?"

"Yeah." Jamie breathed out as he fished the keys out of his pocket and began to walk over to the driver side.

"I still think she's out of your league, but who am I to stand in the way of true love." Renzulli joked as he stepped over to the passenger side. "Do you have a plan yet?"

"Why do people keep asking me that?" Jamie questioned as he rested his arms on the roof of the car.

"Well, do you?" Renzulli pushed, having a good idea what the answer already was. He remembered those moments; the panic and trying to come up with the perfect plan for a date, but worrying it was never good enough for her.

Jamie blew out a breath, nervously tapping a finger on the roof, before he finally admitted,"I have ideas."

"Ideas are not a plan, kid." Renzulli said, stating the obvious and earning an eye roll from his partner.

"I know that." Jamie said. "The problem is, I want to take her somewhere special, but somewhere special cost more than I can afford."

"Instead of spending a lot of money on some place and hope it's special; have you thought about taking her somewhere that is already special?"

When a confused look appeared on Jamie's face, he added,"You two have a long history, right?" After getting a nod, he continued,"I'm sure you have a lot of places that are already special to you two, why not take her to one of those places?"

A smile appeared on Jamie's face as he realized that was a good idea. He tapped the roof, thanking his partner as he opened the door and slide behind the wheel of the car. Ideas were finally starting to form a plan and he knew where to take her now. He just needed to make some phone calls first.

•••

After arriving home from work, Noelle jumped right into getting ready for the date, hoping everything she had to do would keep her distracted until Jamie arrived.

First, she took a long, relaxing bubble bath and took her time shaving her already shaved legs. Then she stepped out of the tub and applied lotion before putting a fluffy bathrobe on. She went into her bedroom and laid out the outfit Nicky helped her pick out days before.

She stared down at the outfit for the next several minutes as she debated with herself if it was the right thing to wear. She even looked in the closet only to realize the new outfit was the best choice.

With outfit officially picked out, she spent the next thirty minutes applying make up and trying to decide what to do with her hair. She pinned it up, then took it down a few times, before deciding to keep it up.

Next it was time to get dressed. She put the black skirt and colorful top on, then looked at herself in the mirror. She turned to one side, then the other and back again to look at herself from every angle. She faced forward and lowered her eyes to her feet, nervously hiding her marked foot behind the other one. Her eyes traveled up to the skirt, shirt and hair, taking in everything.

She made a face, then reached up to unclip her hair and shake her head, causing her hair to fall down around her shoulders. She caught the time through the reflection of the mirror and blew out a nervous breath when she realized he would be there in about ten minutes- meaning she still had ten minutes left to freak out.

There was still a part of her that was terrified of messing things up between them and losing him completely. She couldn't live without him. It was torture not being able to see him every day while she was living in Florida, but at least they could talk on the phone. Now, if something went wrong and she couldn't talk to him at all, she couldn't handle that.

She laid a hand on her stomach, feeling sick at the thought. With a shake of her head, she looked at herself in the mirror as she gave herself a pep talk. She told herself that this would work and everything was going to be okay. She even went as far as to give herself a wink and a finger point, which caused her to giggle at herself for being so ridiculous.

Turning away from the mirror, she walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it as she slipped the ankle boots on. She had just slipped the second on one when she heard a knock at the front door, causing her to jerk her head up and swallow hard. She knew it was just Jamie, but someone at the door still made her nervous.

Blowing out a breath, hoping to calm herself, she left the room and began to walk down the small hallway to the front door. She ran her sweaty hands down the front of the skirt, then reached out to open the door and saw a smiling Jamie on the other side dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a light blue sweater with a white button down shirt.

With one smile, she felt all the fear, doubt and nerves slip away. In this moment she knew they were headed in the right direction and everything would be okay.

"You look... wow, you look beautiful, Nol." Jamie breathed out as she stood in front of him. She truly took his breath away. "I mean, you always do, but tonight, you-you're just... wow."

Noelle laughed and blushed at his compliment. Lowering her head for a moment, she glanced up to look at him as she said,"It's okay, I know what you mean. I feel the same way about you."

Realizing what that meant, she chuckled, then said,"I mean, you look great tonight. Not pretty, but great. Really great, actually."

"Thanks." He chuckled, then joked,"I'm a little bummed you don't think I'm pretty though."

"Shut up." She laughed as she playfully punched his shoulder. She grabbed a coat and purse she had by the door, then asked him if he was ready to go.

"Yeah." He said, then reached behind to pull something from his back pocket. "But first, this is for you."

A grin appeared on her face when she saw him holding a white daisy. She wasn't a big flower person, but for some reason, she always loved daisies.

Maybe it was because his mother always grew daisies every summer and allowed her to pick them. She always loved seeing the smile on his mother's face, as well as, her own mother's face, when she gave them the ones she picked. Or maybe it was because she loved making flower crowns with them and pretend to be a princess when she was alone.

"You remembered." She quietly said.

"Of course I did." He held it out to give to her, but before she could take it from him, he changed his mind and pulled it back, telling her to wait a minute. She looked confused as he tore off half of the stem, until he placed the flower behind her ear.

"There... Perfect." He said, running his fingers through her hair before he lowered his hand. He shot her a smile as he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers before the two walked out the door.

After locking the door, she leaned against him as they left the apartment building and toward his car. She couldn't help but smile when she saw he was driving Joe's old car, a blue 71 Chevelle, a car they both use to love riding in when they were younger.

"Wow, when did you start driving this?" She questioned as he opened the passenger side door for her.

"A few weeks ago." He answered. "Dad told me to take it home."

"Lucky." She breathed out. After sitting down in the passenger seat, she lovely touched the dash, then added,"I wish I could take it home."

Jamie chuckled at her comment and antics. He shut the door, then jogged over to the driver side and slid behind the wheel. Looking over at her, he said,"You can't have my car, Nol."

"Will you at least let me drive it?" She asked. "Like now?"

"You don't know where we're going." He laughed as he crank the car.

"Well, you could tell me where we're going." She suggested.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise." He pointed out.

Turning her head to shot him a look, she asked,"So you do have a plan? I thought you just had ideas."

"I had ideas and now I have a plan." He said as he smiled over at her for a moment before pulling out into traffic.

"And the plan is?" She questioned, trying to get anything out of him.

"The plan is a surprise." He said, shooting her a playful look before looking back at the road.

"Do you really have a plan?" She asked, curiously.

"I really have a plan." He promised as he looked at her for a second before looking back at the road. As his plan crossed his mind, he smiled, then said,"Just lay back, relax and trust me."

Laying her head back against the headrest, she angled it to look over at him- her tone honest as she said,"I always have."

At her comment, he flashed her a quick smile, then turned back to look at the road. He removed a hand from the steering wheel, then reached over to grab one of hers and held it as he got closer to their destination.

Several minutes later, he parked the car on the side of the street of a smaller, less busy neighborhood. There were several good restaurants around, but also some that didn't quite last that long and now the buildings stood empty. He was parked in front of one of the empty ones now.

Noelle looked out the window at the dark and deserted building, then looked back over at Jamie, thinking this had to be a mistake, but all he did was flash her a smile before stepping out of the car. She looked back at the building as he opened the car door and held his hand out for her to take.

"I'm not trying to rain on your parade here, Jams, but this place looks closed. Like for good." She stated as she placed her hand in his before he helped her out of the car.

"That's because it is." He said, looking over at the building. Looking back at her, he added,"And it's not where we're going. We're going somewhere else."

"So where are we going then?" She asked as he held her hand while the two began to walk down the sidewalk together.

"You will find out in a few short minutes."

"Or you can just tell me now."

Jamie turned his head to look at her, a chuckle on his lips. "God, you are still so impatient when it comes to surprises." With a shake of the head, he added,"I remember every year for Christmas and birthdays you would drive me crazy every day asking what I got you."

"I wouldn't have to drive you crazy if you would have just told me."

"Then that would ruin the surprise."

The two laughed about their past until she began to look around. "Wait, I recognize this neighborhood now."

"You should." He said, looking over at her. "We spent a lot of our childhood walking down this sidewalk."

"Yeah, I remember now." With a gasp, she pointed down the sidewalk in the direction they were walking. "There was this little Italian place down there that our families would always get together once a month and eat at."

"Mm-hm." He nodded. "We spent holidays and birthdays there. We even went there to celebrate our high school graduation."

"Yeah, I remember that." She softly said as she thought about all the celebrating they did there. That was back before his mother died and before her mother's health took a turn for the worst. Back when things we simple- back before any of them were touched by the meanness of the world.

Realizing they came to a stop, she glanced over at him and saw a smile on his face. He nodded toward the building they were standing in front of, causing her to turn her head. A smile of her own appeared when she saw they were in front of the restaurant they were just talking about- a little place called Salvatore's.

When she snapped her head to the side to look at him happily, he gave her a shrug as he said,"We've celebrating a lot here, so I thought it was only right that we celebrate our first date here. I just thought this would be the perfect place to start a new chapter in our lives."

"This is amazing, Jamie, really..." She began to say, until she turned her head to look at the building again and noticed how dimly lite it looked inside. She lowered her eyebrows in concern, then turned back to look at him. "But... are you sure they are open? They look closed or something."

"They are." Jamie said, walking them toward the door before opening it. "Or at least they are to everyone else, but they agreed to stay open for a certain couple on their first date."

"You bought the restaurant out for us?" Noelle asked surprised. "Jamie, that had to cost you so much-"

"It really wasn't a lot." He interrupted as he laid a hand on the small of her back and ushered her inside. "Okay, confession? I didn't do much. I called Dad and Dad called Sal- the two worked out a deal."

He grabbed her hand to pull her through the small foyer and into the main room which was decorated with candles and twinkly lights. Every fake bundle of flowers the restaurant owned was placed throughout the room and there was even fake rose petals on the floor leading from where they stood now and over to their table. There was even soft music playing on the overhead speakers.

"Wow." Noelle breathed out as she smiled over at him. "This is- This is amazing, Jamie." She had a feeling he would do whatever to make their date special, but this was more than she could have ever imagined. It was perfect.

"So you like it?" Jamie asked nervously.

"I love it, I do." She nodded with tears in her eyes. No one had ever done something like this for her before.

With a smile, he reached out to run a thumb under her eye to catch a tear before it could fall.

"Happy tears?" He questioned.

"Very happy." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

With a smile still present on his face, he laid a hand on the side of her face, before leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. He took in a breath, catching a whiff of her shampoo or lotion- he wasn't sure which it was, he just knew she smelled incredible.

The scent of her was familiar to him and always took him back to a more innocent time- back when they experienced a few first together; like a kiss and falling in love. It also made him think of a future with her and other first he wanted to experience with her as well. It was just comforting to him, it felt like home.

He rubbed his nose against her, then paused right before his lips touched hers. He knew the kiss usually came at the end of a date, but he didn't think he could wait that long. He found it hard not to touch her or kiss her constantly. He could never get enough of her.

Before his lips could touch hers, they heard footsteps coming toward them. He pressed his lips against her forehead instead, then pulled back as the owner, Salvatore Capello, walked toward them with a smile on his face. The tall white haired man shook Jamie's hand, then gave Noelle a hug and peck on the cheek before asking them how their families were doing and talking about how he missed them all through the years.

"I knew there was something between you two." Sal said, motioning between the couple. "I saw it even when you were little children." He added, causing Noelle and Jamie to turn their heads to look at each with a smile.

"Especially after you two wrote on the wall. I always say that wall is special." He continued.

"You still have the wall?" Noelle asked in surprise.

One of the wall toward the back of the restaurant was used for people to write their initials or leave messages. Sal always believed the wall brought people together. When she and Jamie were young, they wrote their initials down- followed by the letters 'BFF', they wanted the world to know their friendship was permanent and forever.

"Mm-hm." Sal nodded to answer her. He watched the two for a moment, then asked,"And this is the first date, no?"

"Yeah, first date." Jamie answered. Smiling over at her again, he added,"First of many. I hope."

As Noelle smiled back at him and gave him a nod, Sal said,"We are honored you two choose us for your first date. We already have a feast ready for you." He motioned over toward their table where one of his waiters were placing a big salad bowl in the middle of the table, then two small bowls in front of the two chairs across from each other.

As the waiter filled the wine glasses, he continued,"My wait staff will be near to tend to your needs and I'll be in my office in the back if you need anything else."

"Thank you, Sal." Jamie said, shaking his hand. "We really appreciate this."

"You're welcome." Sal nodded. "Tell your father I said hello. Both of you."

"We will." Noelle promised, before the older man turned to leave the main room. His waiter had went back into the kitchen to wait until he was needed again, giving the couple some privacy.

"You hungry?" Jamie questioned as he gestured toward the table. When she shot him a look, he laughed, then said,"Right, sorry, I forgot who I was talking to."

Noelle let out a laugh as he laid a hand on the small of her back and led her toward the table, walking on the trail of rose petals. He pulled her chair out for her, then once she was seated, he walked around to the other side and sat down across from her.

As he began to fill their bowls full of salad, she glanced around the room in awe. The restaurant never had a romantic atmosphere before, it was always a family restaurant, even down to paper tablecloths, but right now, in this moment it was the most romantic place in the world to her.

Glancing down at the table, she couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the paper tablecloths were still in place. It was nice to see that some things don't change.

Hearing her laugh, he looked over at her, asking her what was funny. She nodded toward the table as she said,"Paper tablecloths. Remember how we use to play tic-tac-toe all the time?"

"Mm-hm." He said with a nod. He let out a laugh of his own as he said,"I also remember you use to cheat all the time."

She let out a gasp, then asked with a laugh,"How was I cheating?"

"You always had 'X' and you always had to have the middle space."

"X marks the spot." She explained with a shrug.

He froze in the middle of what he was doing, then looked over at her. "What does that even mean?"

"I dunno." She laughed. "That excuse worked when we were kids, so I went with it."

"Yeah, I never got that as kids either." He said as he began to put more food in the bowls.

"You never asked for more of an explanation when we were kids."

"Confession..." He handed her a small cup full of dressing, knowing she liked it on the side to dip her salad into. Flashing her a smile, he continued,"I liked letting you win. I liked how happy it made you."

"Aw." She cooed. Realizing what he said, she added,"Wait, does that go for everything? When we played chess, board games and basketball too? Did you always let me win?"

"I feel like the truth is only gonna make you mad."

"Seriously, Jamie? Every time?"

He laughed at the shocked look on her face, then said,"I'm kidding. It wasn't all the time." He took a sip of wine, then added,"In the beginning, when we were younger, I would let you win, because I loved seeing that smile on your face, but then as we got older, you got better and would kick my ass."

"And I still can, I bet." She joked, causing him to laugh.

For the next several minutes, they talked about work and their past, until the salad bowls were empty, then a waiter walked back into the room to clear the bowls. He filled their wine glasses and place a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of them.

"Spaghetti." Noelle said happily as she picked up her fork and stared down at the food. "I love the spaghetti here."

"I remember that." Jamie smiled. "I remembered that's what you would always order."

"Mm-hm." She nodded before taking a bite, letting out a small moan at how good it was. She swallowed then took a sip of wine. "It's just as good as I remember."

"It is." He agreed as he took another bite.

"You want to do like Lady and the Tramp?" She joked.

"What?" He laughed, almost choking on his food.

"You know, how they use to both eat a piece of noodle then meet in the middle to kiss." She explained.

"Wait, is that why you always ordered it as kids?" He questioned. When he saw her lower her head and try not to smile, he had his answer. "You were trying to get me to kiss you again."

"Okay, yes!" She laughed and raised her head. "When we were kids I was trying to trick you into kissing me again."

"You sly little minx. I'm gonna have to watch out for you." He joked, causing her to laugh again. Now that they were honest about their feelings, it was nice admitting to their childhood antics.

After eating more, he leaned back in his chair for moment and looked around the room. He looked back at her with a smile on his face, causing her to ask him what he was smiling about.

Taking a sip of his drink, he said,"It's just... being here with you, in this place and eating the same food we use to, it's like nothing has changed."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Well, except for the fact that this time we're on a date instead of playing tic-tac-toe." She let out a laugh, then continued,"But I know what you mean though, it feels like no time has passed at all, but it has. It's crazy how some things can change, but some stay the same."

He nodded his head, then reached out to lay a hand on top of hers on the table. "And after everything that has happened, no matter what different paths we took, we're here- in this place again; this place that is a big part of our past, and we're together."

She smiled at his words, then let out a laugh, before saying,"This is just so weird; me and you being here like this. I mean, a good weird though... or actually, not weird at all." She paused for a moment, to gather her thoughts, then tried to explain,"It's just, I've dreamed of this for so long, and it's just weird that this isn't weird, you know? Sorry, I don't even know if I'm making sense."

"No, I understand what you meant." He said, grabbed her hand again when she went to pull away.

"It's just- going from friends to more, it should be weird, right?" She questioned, then before he could answer, she added,"But tonight, I mean, before you showed up, I was a nervous wreck, but then you knocked on my door and as soon as I opened it and saw you standing there, I knew this was right. Everything just feels right with you, Jamie."

A smile appeared on his face as he nodded his head, knowing exactly what she meant because he felt the same way. He didn't say anything at first, just kept his eyes on her, until a new slow song began to play, causing him to ask her to dance with him.

"What, no!" She exclaimed with a laugh. "Come on, Jamie, you know I don't dance."

"No, I don't know that." He said, leaning toward her. "But I do know that's what you tell people, when in reality you do love to dance. You just think you're bad at it."

"That's not true." She tried to argue, causing him to shake his head.

"No, it is true." He laughed. "Come on, Nol, don't forget, I know you. I know your deep dark secret. I know how you always secretly wished you were a princess that got to go to the ball and dance the night away." He smiled at her, then added,"You try to play it off, but I know deep down what a closet romantic you really are."

"I hate how well you know me." She joked.

He shook his head, then said,"No you don't."

"No, I don't." She repeated honestly. The truth was she really did love how well he knew her, no one knew her the way Jamie did.

He held out his hand toward her as he whispered,"Dance with me."

She looked at him for a moment, then a smile appeared on her face as she laid her hand in his. He stood up from the table and pulled her up to her feet, before leading her off to the side to slow dance among the rose petals on the floor.

After grabbing one of her hands, he raised their arms above their heads and gave her a small spin before laying a hand on the small of her back and slowly sway back and forth.

"Smooth moves, Jams." Noelle laughed. "How did I not know you could dance?"

"It just never came up." Jamie shrugged.

"Where did you learn to dance?"

He blew out a breath, then said,"Confession... Do you remember that dance in the sixth grade?"

"The valentine's day one?"

"Yeah, that one." He nodded. "I wanted to ask you to go, but I didn't want to look like an idiot on the dance floor, so I asked Mom to teach me to dance."

"I never knew that." She said, smiling. Her smile fell slightly in thought as she added,"But you never did ask me... what happened?"

"I chickened out." He admitted.

"But you did ask me to prom." She pointed out.

"That was different though." He said back. "We went as friends."

"We didn't dance there either." She added.

"No, we didn't." He shook his head. "I chickened out then too."

"Confession..." She softly began to say. "That night I kinda pretended that it was more than just friends. I imagined all of these scenarios where you would ask me to dance and admit that you had feelings for me."

He smiled at her words, then said,"Confession... A part of me wanted to."

"Why didn't you?"

"I was scared." He simply stated. "After I kissed you on your birthday, my feelings for you were starting to change and it terrified me. I talked to Joe about it and he listed out the pros and cons of it all, but in the end, I was still too scared to go there. I was too scared of ruining what we had and losing you."

"So you had feelings for me back then?" She softly asked, surprised at what she was hearing.

"Yeah." He quietly admitted with a nod. "But I put our friendship above anything I was feeling. I felt like that was more important. I still do think that, our friendship is everything to me, Nol." He pulled her closer to him, before he added,"But, if I knew then what I know now, I would have went for it. We could be celebrating so many years together now."

"Or maybe not." She said back with a shrug.

"You don't think we would have made it all these years?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah, I do." She nodded. "But we don't know for a fact if we would have. Something could have went wrong, maybe back then wasn't our time, but now it is and that's all that matters."

He nodded his head in agreement, then leaned forward to kiss her forehead, the tip of her nose, then hovered over her lips for a moment, causing her to grin as she whispered to ask him what he was doing.

"I'm going to kiss you." He whispered back. When she shook her head, he pulled back, then added,"So I'm not kissing you?"

"Do I look like the kind of girl who kisses on the first date?" She teased.

"Well, we've already kissed before and slept together-"

"As in actually sleep, not sex." She cut in.

"Right, as in actually sleep." He laughed. "We're already going backwards anyways; so why not a kiss?"

"Hmm." She began to say, pretending to be deep in thought. "Well, when you say it that way... why not?"

"Why not?" He questioned.

"Why not." She repeated with a grin. She laid her hands on the back of his neck, lightly running her nails against his skin, before whispering,"Kiss me, Jamie Reagan."

Jamie smiled at her words, then leaned forward to press his lips against hers for what started as a gentle kiss, until she lightly tugged on his hair while nibbling on his bottom lip, causing him to pull her closer against him as he captured her lips for a passionate kiss.

The two continued to kiss as they slowly swayed on the makeshift dance floor. All he wanted was to give her the perfect first date, and in her opinion that is exactly what he did. The night was magically and like a fairytale- like the ones she had secretly loved growing up. Something only Jamie would know and something only Jamie could give her.

•••

 _A/N; So, I know their date was corny and sweet, but corny and sweet is what I like lol. Plus I just see Jamie as a romantic or at least my version of him is._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and adding the story. Also big thanks to RyeBreadQueen, jlmayer, lilnightmare17, traceyaudette, BTR14, werks, Guest, BLBLF, Eddie Reagan, BrookeErinMelton, mcgeeksgirl, Daniel Reagan, QueensGambit, Love. Fiction. 2016, Guest- Anica and SCARLETCOIN2012 for reviewing. And to my bestie Sage Londyn for getting caught up! Thank you so much boo._

 _I'm gonna shamelessly ask for some bday love, it is tomorrow! I feel like a cute date between Nol x Jamie is a present in itself, lol. Seriously, what could be better?_

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	13. Past and Present Collide

**13; Past and Present Collide**

One morning, Noelle was sleeping peacefully, something she had done a little more lately, when she heard her cell phone go off. With a groan, she rolled over toward the table the noisy device was sitting on, then reached out to grab it. She squinted her eyes, then flashed a sleepy smile when she saw it was a good morning text from Jamie.

It had a been a few days since their date, and the two haven't really been able to see each other since they were busy with work. He had pulled a couple of double shifts, while she had been busy with autopsies and other test. One of those autopsies was on the girl Anna Zoltin, the girl pulled out of the river days ago.

She had reported her findings to Danny, then he, with his partner Jackie, had closed in on her killer, which should have been cause for celebration, but instead the FBI got involved. The killer was one of their confidential informants for a major case and they would not let Danny arrest him, but Danny did what Danny does best and found a way around it, and now the killer was awaiting trial for the murder of Anna Zoltin.

But despite not seeing Jamie, he made sure to keep in contact with her. He would text her several times a day. Usually first thing in the morning to tell her good morning, one during the day to ask how work was going, then another at night to wish her sweet dreams.

Hearing her phone go off again, she checked the message, seeing that he was asking her if she was awake. After she wrote back that she was, she then heard a knock at the door. She chuckled when he sent her another text, telling her she should answer the door.

Glancing down at what she had slept in, a short tank top and pajama bottoms, she threw back the comforter and jumped up to find something else to throw on. She grabbed an oversized long sleeve shirt from the floor and threw it on over her top, the last thing she wanted was for the tank top to ride up and show off the ugly scar on her side.

Looking down at her bare feet next, she grabbed a pair of mix matched socks, something normal for her, then tossed them on before she ran toward the front door to let him in.

"Hey." Noelle breathed out as she opened the door, seeing him dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, looking like he had been awake for a while and completely put together, making her feel like a slob for just rolling out of bed. She didn't even have time to run a brush through her hair or brush her teeth.

"Morning." Jamie said, stepping into the apartment and setting the gym bag from his hands on the floor. Seeing the sleepy look on her face, he let out a chuckle. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

"Mm-hm." She mumbled with a nod.

"I'm sorry, Nol." He softly said as he stepped closer to her, laying his hands on either side of her face, before pressing his lips against her forehead. He moved closer to kiss her lips, until she shook her head and took a step back, causing him to joke,"Are we doing this again? You denying kisses?" Reminding her of when she did that on their date a few nights ago.

"No." She laughed, then explained,"Morning breath. I haven't had a chance to brush my teeth yet or even brush my hair, which is why I look a mess."

"You never look like a mess, Nol. You're always beautiful." He said honestly. He stepped toward her again, then leaned closer, his lips inches from hers, before he jokingly added,"And if your breath didn't smell like death right now, I would run my hands through that mess of a hair and kiss the crap out of you, but I fear for my life right now."

Noelle let out a laugh as she playfully punched his shoulder, calling him a jerk before turning to leave the room to brush her teeth and pull her hair up. She let out a squeal when he slapped her butt as she walked away. She looked at him from over her shoulder, giving him a glare then broke out into a smile when he gave her a wink.

She was only gone a few minutes before she came bouncing down the hall and into the living with fresher breath, a clean face and hair piled on top of her head. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he thought she had never looked more beautiful to him.

"Can I have my morning kiss now?" He questioned with his arms out as she walked toward him.

"Nope." She stated as she laid a hand on his face and playfully pushed him away while she walked past him to go into the kitchen for coffee.

She had only taken a couple of steps when he reached out to grab her arm and spun her around toward him as a laugh escaped his lips. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, his lips were against hers, causing her to let out a chuckle before wrapping her around his neck, the coffee quickly leaving her mind. In her opinion this was the best way to wake up anyways.

"Mm, minty." He mumbled as he shot her a smile and laid his hands on her sides.

She chuckled at his comment, then reached to grab the hand that was near the scar on her side, moving it to lay on the small of her back. Even if the scar was covered, she didn't want to risk him being able to feel it there under the fabric of the shirts she was wearing.

"Is the big baby better now?" She jokingly asked as she went to take a step back from him, until he shook his head and pulled her back toward him for another kiss.

He took a few steps back, his backside hitting the arm of the couch. He sat down on it, getting more at her level. As the kiss began to heat up between them, he lowered his hand from her back to her butt and pulled her closer to him. She let out a breathy groan as he kissed across her jaw and down the side of her neck. She tilted her head to the side, giving him better access, while her fingers went into his hair, her nails lightly scratching his scalp.

She moaned out his name, her breathing labored, when she felt how badly this make-out session was affecting him. She couldn't deny she wanted him, she thought about this often when she was a teenager and learned what sex even was, and lately, she had a lot of vivid dreams like this, but when she felt him moving his hand up and slipping it under the bottom of her shirt she froze for a moment.

When his hand met flesh and his fingers began to dance across her skin from her back to her side, she quickly pulled back when he got a little too close to the mark on her side.

"I'm sorry." Jamie breathed out, thinking he made her uncomfortable moving too fast. He laid his hands on either side of her face, turning her to look at him when she looked away from him. "Hey... I'm sorry, Nol." He apologized again.

"It's okay." Noelle said with a shake of the head. She took a step back toward him, resting her arms on his shoulders. "You didn't do anything wrong, Jamie. I was into it, definitely into it, but-"

"It's fine." He cut her off. "We did just start dating. I mean, I know we did things backwards; we made out a few times before our first date, so I guess that means I need to wine and dine you a few more times before that happens, huh?"

"That would be nice. You know, I'm not just some girl you can get and forget." She joked.

"I could never forget you, Nol." He said sincerely. A grin appeared on his face as he added,"I mean, how could I forget the girl who cries at Disney movies, eats everything in sight, and looks pretty adorable with bed head and cartoon pajamas."

She laughed at his comment, then playfully pushed him, causing him to fall back onto the couch with a laugh of his own.

"Hey!" He called out. "I called you adorable."

"I heard." She said, sitting down on the edge of the couch beside him. "But it felt more like an insult than a compliment."

"I would never insult my girl." He said honestly as he pulled on her arm to lay with him. She was too caught off guard by his comment to fight against him and instead laid out beside him, then buried her face in his chest to hide the grin on her face.

This was the kind of moments she use to dream about; the words, the touches, the kisses, and now they were actually happening, which made her as giddy as a schoolgirl. No other relationship had ever felt like this- not that there were a lot, but it didn't surprise her since she had never felt for anyone the way she had for Jamie all her life.

Between their bond and connection, it intensified everything; his touches set her skin on fire and his kisses left her breathless. She couldn't even imagine what it would do to her if they did have sex, she would definitely be a goner then. There would be no coming back from that, she had no doubt she would never be able to get over him then. She would be in too deep for the rest of her life.

"What are you thinking?" Jamie softly asked, after the two cuddled silently for the next few minutes. He needed to make sure she wasn't having second thoughts or that he had made her too uncomfortable earlier, that was never his intention, he honestly just got carried away.

He had never planned for that when he stopped by, but it was like since she opened the door, he couldn't get enough of her. Once he laid his hands on her or kissed her, he wanted more. It was like he had hidden his feelings for so long and now he was making up for lost time. Now he could think about her in ways he was too scared to before, now he could be honest with himself, and now he could have her in ways he only ever allowed himself to dream about.

"I'm thinking..." She began to say, her voice muffled in his shirt. She took in a deep breath, then released before adding,"You smell good."

"That's because I showered earlier, unlike someone who just crawled out of bed, looking like a mogwai." He joked.

"What did you call me?" She laughed as she raised her head to look at him.

"A mogwai... remember from the movie Gremlins?" He questioned, referring to an old movie from the 80's.

"Are you really calling me a gremlin?" She asked as she shot him a look and tried to hide the smile that threatened to appear on her face.

"Just the cute ones." He answered with a laugh. He made a funny face, then tapped the end of her nose, causing her to laugh out loud before laying her head back down on his chest.

"That movie was stupid, by the way." She mumbled.

"It wasn't stupid." He said, defending it. "You were just scared."

"I was not scared." She argued as she lifted her head again.

"Then why did I have to hold you hand during the whole movie?"

"Maybe I planned it that way." She joked. "Maybe I just wanted to hold your hand."

"Maybe you did. Or maybe you were a big scaredy cat and don't want to admit it." He teased as he tickled her side.

"Stop!" She called out with a laugh as she tried to push his hand away. When that didn't work, she lowered her head and playfully bit his shoulder, causing him to let out a yelp. He should have expected that, this was the type of things they've done since they were kids and would play fight.

He called for a truce then gave her a quick kiss before lowering her head back down to his chest. The two were quiet for a few more minutes, until she spied his gym bag, the one she remembered he came into her apartment with earlier. While she was out of the room before, he had moved it over toward the couch, which had grabbed her attention.

"What's with the bag?" She questioned as she nodded toward it.

"Oh, that." He said, nudging her to sit up. He sat up beside her, then reached over to grab the bag, sitting it on the coffee table in front of them. "I was headed for the gym before I stopped by here." He began to unzip it as he added,"Actually that's the real reason I came by."

"So there was another reason you stopped by beside to feel me up?" She joked.

"Actually that was an added bonus." He joked as he shot her a smile. "But the main reason is this..." His voiced trailed off as he pulled out a set of boxing gloves.

"You box? When did you start boxing?" She questioned as he handed them to her. "These look kinda small, by the way." She commented as she looked over the gloves.

"I got into it when I was in the academy." He said, answering her first question. He nodded toward the gloves, then added,"And those are smaller because they are for you." He pulled out another set, then continued,"These are mine."

"Wait, mine?" She asked confused. "Why do I have boxing gloves?"

"Look..." He turned to face her. "After what happened to you and Erin, I'm worried about you, Nol." He softly added as he laid a hand on her knee. He wanted to bring up Florida, point out that something happened to her, and that scared him- the unknown had him terrified for her, but he knew if he did bring it up she would shut down.

"I'm okay-"

"But you're not." He cut her off. "How could you be, Nol? A serial killer attacked you... a serial killer who was convicted for killing and torturing other women, I hate to think of what would have happened to you and Erin if Dad didn't show up when he did."

"You don't have to remind me of what happened, Jamie." She said, her tone a little harsher than she meant. Not being able to sit still, she jumped up from the couch and began to pace back and forth with her arm folded across her chest. "I was there, I lived it, and I'm okay. Once again, I'll be okay."

"What do you mean once again?" He questioned as he stood up. He stepped in front of her, stopping her pacing by laying his hands on her shoulders. "What does that mean?"

"Wha-what?" She mumbled, not realizing what she had said. She shook her head and stuttered,"N-Nothing. I just mean, once again, like, just pointing again, I'm okay."

"Okay, fine, maybe you are okay." He said, even though he didn't believe it. He laid a hand on his chest as he added,"But I'm not. And it would make me feel better if you knew the basics, just something to protect yourself. Will you do that for me?"

"I already know the basics." She pointed out.

"What do you mean you know the basics?" He questioned. "You box?"

"I have." Noelle answered with a nod. "A friend in Florida taught me a few things." She added vaguely.

After what happened with Jimmie, Spencer dragged her to a gym, thinking if she wouldn't talk about what happened, maybe she could at least get what she was feeling out another way. Plus he figured knowing a few self-defense moves wouldn't be the worst thing.

"A friend? Who?" He asked curiously.

"This guy named Spencer." She answered like it was no big deal, which to her it wasn't. Spencer was just a friend, but the look on Jamie's face let her know he wanted to know more about this friend.

"A guy named Spencer." He repeated quietly to himself with a nod. "Who is this guy name Spencer?"

"I told you... a friend." A chuckled left her lips as she teased,"Why, Jamie Reagan, are you jealous?"

"No." He scoffed, hoping that sounded convincing. He wasn't usually the jealous type, but now he couldn't help but wonder how close these two really were. "This is just the first I am hearing about a friend from Florida. You're usually pretty tight-lipped when it comes to your time down there."

"There's not much to tell about my time in Florida." She lied. "I mostly worked and Spencer is a detective down there." She added, hoping he would just assume that she met him on the job.

"So you two never-"

"No." She interrupted, knowing he was wondering if anything ever happened between them. "We're just friends, Jamie."

"So you didn't date anyone in Florida?" He questioned as he thought back to a theory he had recently. That maybe she dated someone violent and was running from him.

"No." She quietly answered with a shake of her head. "Like I told you, I mostly worked."

Desperate to change the subject and get him off of her back, she reached down to grab the boxing gloves from the floor- where they had fallen when she jumped up from the couch earlier, then said,"If it'll make you feel better, you can take me boxing."

"Really?" He asked, earning a nod from her as an answer. He gave her a smile and a quick peck on the lips, telling her to go change so they can get started. He wanted them to have a good workout before he had to start his tour in a couple of hours.

It wasn't until later as they were leaving the apartment in separate cars to drive to the gym that he began to think more about her Florida friend. The report he found on her, he remembered seeing the name of a detective who filled out the report, a detective by the name of Spencer Hayes, and he assumed that was the friend she mentioned earlier.

Now he couldn't help but wonder how close the two really were. If this detective had sealed her report, why would he do that? What were they hiding?

•••

After arriving at the gym, he spent the next few minutes wrapping her hands and reminding her of the basics, most she had remembered from Spencer, but some she had forgotten. Then he set her up with a punching bag, holding it on the other side as he encouraged her to hit it a few times.

She started out barely hitting it. She was really only doing this to distract him from earlier, but the more she punched the bag, the more she began to get into it. She lowered her eyebrows in anger as she punched a bit harder.

Her mind flashed back to the house Jimmie kept her captive in. In her mind she saw when she was chained by the ankle in a damp basement, causing her to punch the bag again. She remembered how helpless she felt daily, how she would sit on the cot he had set up for her and would pull on the chain as hard as she could, until her hands hurt and began to bleed, even though deep down she knew there was no way to pull the heavy-duty chain from the wall.

She swung hard at the bag again when she remembered standing down in that basement, with her head back to look at the ceiling above her as she screamed her lungs out. She begged Jimmie to release her, she screamed for someone to save her until her voice went out, but as days rolled into nights and no one came for her she began to lose hope. She began to think she was never getting out of there, she was close to falling to the floor and giving up completely until her best friend crossed her mind.

In those moments, she thought about Jamie a lot, holding on to their memories and thinking of the things he would tell her if only he could in those times. She knew he would plead with her to keep fighting and to never give up, he would beg her to stay alive and to make her way back to him. A few short months before she had stood beside him to bury his brother, she saw how much that destroyed him, and she never wanted to see that look on his face again.

She knew in that moment, if she was going to survive Jimmie, she had to play his game until she could catch him off guard. She had pulled in a shaky breath, trying to get her emotions under control, then after wiping the tears from her face, she yelled out to Jimmie, telling him she was sorry for fighting against him. She understood now, she knew why he took her. It was only a few minutes later, that she heard the basement door opened, followed by his footsteps coming down the stairs.

Back in the present, she didn't realize her breathed had become labored and tears were falling down her face as she hit the bag as hard as she could, letting out a frustrated grunt each time her hand connected with the bag.

More memories crossed her mind- like a picture book as she remembered how happy Jimmie looked as he walked closer to her, thinking she was finally going to be his. She felt her stomach roll when she remembered how he ran his hands up and down her sides before he pulled her closer to him. She had pinned her eyes shut and swallowed the bile in her throat when she remembered how he buried his face in her hair and inhaled, before whispering in her ear that they would be together forever, she was his forever.

"No!" Noelle screamed as she pushed against the bag as hard as she could, as if for a moment she thought it was Jimmie in front of her like the memories in her mind.

"Nol.. Noelle!" Jamie called out as he came around the bag to stand in front of her. Seeing she was losing it and getting hysterical, he laid his hands on her shoulders, hoping to calm her, but was surprised when she knocked his hands away then shoved him back as she yelled for him to leave her alone.

He ignored all the whispers around them as they began to get everyone's attention in the gym. He held up a hand, telling the few who stepped forward to help, that it was okay- he would take care of it. He took a cautious step toward her, holding a hand out to her, but waiting a moment before he touched her. Whatever was going on, it was like she was stuck in a past memory, he knew she wasn't fighting against him earlier, she was fighting against someone else- someone who had hurt her badly before.

"Nol, baby, look at me..." He quietly said, hoping to grab her attention. When she raised her head to look at her, her eyes red with unshed tears and her chin quivering, he felt his heart break for her. This was more than just what happened with Reed the other night, he was also starting to suspect this was more than a relationship gone wrong, this was something way worse than he could have ever imagined.

"Jamie..." She whimpered out in confusion. She glanced around for a moment, taking in her surroundings and realized she was okay, she was in the gym with him, she was not back in that house with Jimmie, she was safe.

When she noticed the looks everyone was giving her, similar to the ones she seen after the attack in Florida, she felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She always felt like back then that people were watching her and just waiting for her to lose it and that is exactly what she just did, she had lost it.

She lowered her head, her breathing quickening as she tried to rip the gloves off of her hands. She let out a frustrated groan, then saw Jamie walk closer to her from the corner of her eye, before he reached out and took one of the gloves off for her.

She didn't dare to look at him and instead kept her head down as she tried to removed the other one. It took her several tries and more time than she would have liked, but she was finally able to get the other one off. She began to rip off the tape and gauze from her hands as she stomped past Jamie and headed for the door, trying to ignore all eyes that were still on her.

Jamie stood still for a moment, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. Then without a second thought, he fled for the door and rushed outside after her. He caught up with her a few rows away from her car in the middle of the parking lot. He softly said her name, not wanting to frighten her even more, before he reached out to grab her arm and turn her around to face him.

"Hey... Nol, hey, wait, just talk to me." Jamie pleaded as she tried to pull away from him. Feeling like she needed it just as much as him, he pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her, she fought against him for a minute before melting into his embrace.

He laid a hand on the back of her head, burying her face in his chest as he kissed the top of her head. "I can't help you if you don't let me in." He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Pulling out of his arms and taking a step back, she snapped,"I don't need your help, Jamie. I don't need it, because I'm fine!"

"That is not fine, Noelle!" He said back, matching her tone. He gestured toward the building they just left,"What happened in there is not fine! Noelle, who are you running from, huh? Who is it?"

"Right now it's you, Jamie." She stated as she turned to march away from him, but she didn't get far when his next words made her came to a quick stop in shock.

"Is it Jimmie?"

She felt her body shake in fear as she slowly turned around to face him. Her voice quivered as she quietly asked,"How-How do you know that name?" All she could think was somehow Jimmie found out about him, somehow Jimmie had made himself known to Jamie and now he was in danger.

Jamie swallowed hard, knowing she wouldn't like the next words that came out of his mouth. "I saw it on the report."

"Wha- wait, what report?" Noelle questioned. Realizing what he meant, anger overtook her,"Did you look me up? Jamie, tell me you did not check up on me?"

"What was I supposed to do, Nol?" He asked as he threw out his arms feeling helpless. "You won't talk to me."

"There is nothing to talk about!" She exclaimed. "It happened and it's over and I just want to forget it! Jamie, please! Please, just let me forget it."

"Nol, I'm sorry..." He softly said. He took a step toward her, laying a hand on the side of her face, seeing how she leaned against it to accept his comfort. She closed her eyes, releasing a breath and assuming this meant he was going to drop it, until he spoke again, casing her to snap her eyes open. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" She questioned as she took a step back from him.

"You know I would normally not do this, I would never push you, but I know something happened- something bad and I can't let this go." He tried to reach out for her and tried not to feel hurt when she pulled away from him. "I can't fight this feeling that this is something important, that you need help- that you need me, but you're running scared. Someone has you terrified, but you don't have to be, because Nol, I'm here. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere, I can protect you."

"You can't." She breathed out with a shake of a her head. It's not that she didn't trust him, she knew he would do whatever to protect her and that was why she couldn't let him. If her paranoia was true and Jimmie was back somehow, she didn't want Jamie on his radar. As obsessed as he was with her, she feared what he would do to someone who 'stole' her away from him.

"I can." He argued as he took a step toward her, his eyes pleading with hers to trust him and open up to him. "Just talk to me, Nol." He softly said.

"There's nothing to talk about." Noelle said, her face hardening as she did the only thing she could think of, she had to push him away. " _We_ have nothing to talk about." She stated coldly.

"Nol-"

"Just leave me alone!"

Without another word, she spun around and began to walk away, ignoring him as he called out to her. He wanted to run after her, but one glance at the time showed him he had to be at work soon, and unfortunately that meant he didn't have time to run after her and make things right between them.

For now all he could do was stand in place and watch her walk away, making him feel even more helpless than he did before. Things were going so great with them before, but then in one moment everything had spiraled out of control and he didn't know what to do to make it better for her.

Noelle wrapped her arms around herself and lowered her head as she walked across the parking lot toward her car and tried not to break down on the way.

As a few tears escaped, she reached up to wipe them from her face as her car come into view. Seeing something laying on the windshield, her steps faltered as she glanced around for moment, but didn't see anyone near by. She looked over her shoulder, where Jamie had been standing earlier, but even he was gone back inside to grab his stuff before having to go to the station.

She took a few steps closer and noticed it was a red rose laying against the glass, the stem under the windshield wiper. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart began to pound in her chest. She knew there was a chance Jamie could have left the rose, and she wanted to believe that, but she knew who it really came from, since Jamie knew what her favorite flower was. If he had left her something it was be daisies, not a rose, no this had to come from someone else- someone who had been haunting her nightmares since he came into her life.

She cautiously reached out with a shaky hand to remove the rose. Seeing a small paper tag attached to the stem with a red ribbon, she turned it over and read one simple word- ' _We_ '. She swallowed hard, remembering how Jimmie use to leave her things one at a time and each 'present' had one word attached to it, once she got the whole bundle, it would spell out a phrase.

She felt her eyes flutter shut as a tear rolled down her face. After all the little clues lately, deep down she had hoped she was just being paranoid, but other than the Florida cops and lawyers, it was never released publicly about the presents with a note attached. No one else knew about this but one other person- the one who started it all, which meant one thing; Jimmie was back.

•••

After regrettably leaving Noelle, Jamie changed into his uniform and started his tour. He hated leaving him in the middle of a fight, or whatever you wanted to call what happened earlier, but he didn't have any other choice. This was one of the downsides to being an adult, you couldn't skip out on your responsibilities.

Not long into the tour started, they got a repeat call from the day before, or as his partner called them- 'frequent flyer jobs'. They were the calls they got constantly from the same person, it was mostly lonely old people looking for companionship or something it was just straight up crazy people imagining things. This time it was a rich girl named Melissa Samuels, who was convinced someone was breaking into her apartment and moving things around.

They were just at her place the day before as she tried to get them to believe her even though she had no real proof, nothing was missing or taken, just in her words- moved around.

"Two days in a row with this crap." Renzulli complained as he exited the car. "This broad is just a plain whack-adoo. Who says she ain't moving the stuff herself, huh?"

"Yeah, but she's not making up the scared part." Jamie pointed out as they walked down the sidewalk toward her apartment building. "She was really frightened."

"Hey, we're not in the business of making the bogeyman go away." Renzulli argued. "A real crime perpetrated by a real criminal? Yeah. That's our bailiwick."

"Right." Jamie muttered with a small nod, agreeing with him.

"And besides, if she looked like a linebacker, you'd think she's nuts, too." He continued, causing his partner to snap his head to the side to look at him like he was the crazy one. "Yeah. And if I was you, I'd be careful about that. You've told me stories of that crazed hellcat you call a best friend."

Jamie laughed at his comment, realizing he was joking around. "Are you scared of her, Sarge?"

"A little." Renzulli admitted as he held two fingers close together to get his point across. He dropped his hand, then added,"But if you ever tell her, I'll deny it and write you up for insubordination."

Another laugh escaped his lips, but the sound fell short when Melissa jerked the door open at seeing them arrive and informed them that she wasn't imagining things. The two cops followed her inside her apartment and it was clear to see the furniture had been moved around. It was in different places than the day before when they were there, as were several picture frames on her wall, which were now turned upside down.

In Renzull's mind, none of this proved that someone had been in her place, like he suggested before, she could be moving this stuff around herself, but Jamie was feeling like there was something more going on.

Feeling like no one believed her, Melissa became upset and fled the room.

"What else has to happen for you to believe me?" She questioned when she heard Jamie walking along behind her as she made her way into the kitchen.

Spying a few prescription bottle on the counter, he questioned,"I hate to ask this, but you're on medication?"

"You're going to be like all the rest." Melissa said, feeling disappointed, for a moment, she thought maybe he did believe her. "There's nothing wrong with being anxious. If you came home to this..."

As her voice trailed off, Jamie said,"Melissa, the precinct is two blocks from here. I... I drive past your house to and from work. I'll keep an eye out for you, okay?"

Grabbing a set of keys from the counter, she turned to him, holding them out. "I need you to have these."

"No, please. That's-That's not what we do, okay?" He said, trying to decline the offer, but she pressed the keys into his hand.

"No. I'm going to Chicago for a week just to get away." Melissa explained. "If you see anyone while I'm gone..."

When he finally nodded his head to agree, she blew out a breath, relieved he was going to help her. He wished her a nice trip, then turned to leave until she spoke up and got his attention, asking him if she can ask him a question.

"Sure." Jamie said with a nod.

"What was it that makes you believe me?" Melissa asked.

"There's this girl- my girlfriend, well actually, I don't know what she is yet, we just started dating, but she is my best friend. Has been since we were kids." Jamie began to explain. "And you remind me of her, mostly because of the look on your face. I can tell you are scared about something and I've seen that same look on her face too."

"Who is it?" Melissa questioned, causing him to look at her with a confused look on her face, unsure what exactly she was asking. "I mean, who's messing with her?"

"I don't know." Jamie said with a sigh as he shook his head. "According to her, no one is."

Melissa nodded her head at his words. She was silent for a moment in thought, then spoke up,"The first time I noticed something was moved, I told myself it was my imagination or I just moved it and forgot. Deep down, I knew that was wrong, I knew it wasn't me, but it was less scary to believe that."

"But every time I walked in afterwards I could feel it in the air, the whole place felt different, it didn't feel like my own anymore. I didn't feel safe or comfortable... I couldn't sleep. I always feel like I need to look over my shoulders. I'm a nervous wreck, and that's how I knew. I knew this was real, I knew it was happening right under my nose." She added.

Jamie silently watched her as she talked, seeing how her hands slightly shook at times and remembered times when he had tried to question Noelle, hers had done the same. He also knew she didn't sleep much, she had mentioned that to him before and he knew how fearful she was; there was proof of that by all the locks on her door, the baseball bat and mace that she had.

"At first I was scared to tell anyone... scared no one would believe me or look at me like I was crazy since I have no proof of anything." She continue to tell her story. "It was my brother more than anyone who believed in me, he pushed me to call the cops. It's hard to ask for help when you fear rejection, perhaps your girlfriend never felt like she really had anyone to turn to and that's why she doesn't talk about it."

"She knows I'm always there, that I'll always listen and believe her." Jamie explained as he shook his head. "Up until recently she lived in Florida for a few years, but even when she was gone, she knew I was only one phone call away."

"Maybe with you being so far away, she didn't want to worry you." Melissa suggested. "Maybe she tried to turn to someone else, tried to get help other ways and was made to feel like she was crazy, so she just gave up trying to ask for help."

Jamie nodded his head in understanding and felt a pain in his heart at the thought of her reaching out to someone and being denied. What if she had tried to go to the police in Florida, but like Melissa, had no proof; only a feeling, and they turned her away.

She grew up around cops, she was always told they would be there for her and she could always turn to them for help, he felt sure she would have done just that. She would have walked into a station to tell her story, but what if she was turned away? What if she thought no one believed her and no one would help her?

Now maybe she felt hesitant to open up to anyone, for fear of being judged wrongly again or turned away.

"You care about her a lot." Melissa stated when she saw the look on his face.

Even though it was more of a statement instead of a question, he still nodded his head, letting her know she was right. "My advice then... don't give up on her. If something like this is happening to her- then she needs you to believe in her. And I'm sure deep down she wants your help, she's just scared to ask for it, for whatever reason. Find that reason and maybe you'll find the way in, find the way to break through whatever wall she has put up."

"As stubborn as she is, it's probably a steel door instead of a wall." Jamie joked, causing him to softly smile as he thought about his childhood friend that he was quickly falling for.

Melissa chuckled at his comment, seeing even more clearly how he felt about his friend, causing her to say,"She's a really lucky girl to have you in her life."

"No." Jamie said, shaking his head. A smile appeared on his face,"I'm the lucky one."

He did view himself as the lucky one, to be able to see her grow up in front of his eyes and see how strong she became.

That was another reason it killed him to see her the way she is now; that was not the girl he grew up with and he missed that. There were times he still saw the old Noelle shining through, like recently when she stood up to Sonny Malevsky, seeing that fire in her eyes had made him proud, but those moments were usually short-lived before she began to look frightened again. Somehow, he was going to protect her and in the process bring the old Noelle back.

•••

 _A/N; Poor, Nol. Not gonna lie, this chapter killed me to write. Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story._

 _Also big thanks to jlmayer, RyeBreadQueen, Guest, traceyaudette, BLBLF, mcgeeksgirl, lilnightmare17, werks, Daniel Reagan, SCARLETCOIN2012, Sage Londyn, Guest, CourtneyD4494, Eddie Reagan, Guest_ _\- Anica and Love. Fiction. 2016 for reviewing._

 _I forgot to mention last time that I've posted a mix of songs that remind me of Nol x Jamie or this story. It's up on 8 tracks as well as my tumblr. You can find me on tumblr at; missecharlotte. Also thanks for the birthday wishes last time._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	14. And So It Begins

**14; And So It Begins  
**

Hours later, after making it back to the station, Jamie sat in front of one of the many computers and began to research. Since before he couldn't find out much on Noelle, he decided to take his investigation another way. He knew the name of the man she feared, meaning he could search for Jimmie Jenkins and maybe find some pieces to the puzzle that way. All he knew was, he had to find some answers. He was not giving up on her, he was going to help her somehow.

After a quick search on Jimmie, he found out he was a twenty-eight year old man who spent most of his life in mental hospitals. Over a year ago, around the time Noelle was living in Florida, Jimmie was finally out of one of the many institutions and was living with a younger brother, named Jacob.

Next he searched the brother, finding a small news article about Jacob committing suicide at twenty-three. Another search revealed that Noelle was the one who did the autopsy on Jacob, meaning she was probably on the scene to pick up the body and that was probably how the two met.

He tried to do more of a search, but had to leave before he could find anything else to respond to a call. For the rest of his tour he was in the patrol car, meaning his little investigation had to wait. He hated that he had to do this behind her back, but she didn't really leave him any other choice. He remembered the advice Melissa gave him, to find the reason she was so terrified and maybe he could find a way in, and that was what he was going to do; somehow he had to find a way in.

After his tour was over, he changed out of his uniform and into a pair of jeans and a button down shirt with a t-shirt under it, then headed for her place. He didn't have much, but he hoped with the little bit of information he had he could get through to her. Plus he honestly just wanted to see her, especially after what happened at the gym, it still bothered him that he couldn't go after her and had to watch her walk away. He never liked watching her walk away, it had always crushed his heart.

It started when she first revealed to him that she was moving to Florida years ago. He still remember that day like it was yesterday, and he remembered how for a moment his heart dropped and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

From a young age, the two had been inseparable, they basically did everything together; they even went to the same college because they couldn't stand the thought of being separated, then in a flash she was gone. They talked some while she was in Florida and she even visited a few times, but in the end, she always left again; he tried not to take it personally, but at times it did feel like she had left him.

Now that she was back, he tried not to think of those bad memories much, she was in his life again and that was all that really mattered, but he would be damned though if he let her walk away again. He cared about her too much to let this go. He usually wasn't so confrontational, especially with her, but he couldn't shake this feeling of urgency- like if he didn't do something soon, something bad could happen to her. Whoever this Jimmie was, he had no doubt he was bad news, and whatever he did to her, he was going to make sure it never happened again.

Before arriving at her building, he stopped by the burger place nearby to grab some of her favorites, hoping that would smooth things over. He knew the best way to get back on her good side was food. If he had time he would have went to the bakery she liked to grab a dozen of her favorite cupcakes, but he hoped the cheeseburger, order of onion rings and chicken nuggets would be good enough for now.

Pulling into the parking lot, he pulled into a spot beside her car, then grabbed his cell phone to call her. The phone rung several times, making him think for a minute she was going to ignore him, but finally he heard a click on the other end, followed by a quiet greeting from her.

"Hey." Jamie whispered back, matching her tone. He wasn't sure how her reaction would be after earlier that day, but he was glad he at least got a word from her. He blew out a breath, then began to say,"Look, Nol-"

"Don't." Noelle cut him off. "I don't want to fight with you, Jamie." She added sounding incredibly tired, which wasn't surprising after the stressful day she had.

She spent most of the day staring at the rose and note left on her car, trying to convince herself that the handwriting didn't look familiar to her. She picked apart the two letters, telling herself it had to be from someone else, it had to mean something else, but she knew who it really was- it was Jimmie.

"I don't either. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is fight with you." He said back. "I'm outside your building right now; if I came to the door, will you let me in?" He nervously asked, a little scared of what her answer would be. If she said no, this whole conversation would take a turn for the worst.

"Jamie, I don't know-"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He questioned. "I think this connection is bad."

She couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping from her lips when she realized what he was doing. He was doing what he usually did if they were having a disagreement, he was pretending he couldn't hear her, knowing she could never stay mad at him when he did that.

"Yeah, I'm sure the signal is so much worse out there." She said sarcastically. She thought about it for a moment, then sighed, before saying,"Jamie, I'm sorry, but I just... It's been a long day and I'm in my pjs, and all I want to do for the rest of the night is distract myself with a movie and a lot of snacks-"

"I picked up some dinner." He cut her off. He glanced over at the paper bag beside him in the passenger seat, then added,"I have cheeseburgers and onion rings from the place that you love down the street."

"Chicken nuggets too?" She asked.

"Chicken nuggets too." He repeated in answer. "I even grabbed bbq and honey mustard sauce." He added, knowing she liked to dip in both.

"Okay." She softly said. "I'll open the door."

Jamie smiled, then grabbed the bag of food beside him and exited the car. He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket as he walked over to the building and waited a minute until she buzzed him in. He went down the narrow hallway, then knocked on the door of her ground floor apartment.

He waited a few minutes and was beginning to think she was going back on her word, until he finally heard the sound of locks turning and the chains being removed.

His eyebrows lowered in concern when she opened the door and leaned against it, wearing an oversized long sleeve shirt and loose fitted pajama bottoms. The clothes looked like they were about to swallow her whole, but he had a feeling she picked the outfit out on purpose to hide herself away from the world. He also couldn't help but notice how drained and tired she looked, he wouldn't be surprised if she had driven herself crazy all day with the ghost of her past.

Jamie held up the bag of food, seeing a small smile appear on her face for a moment, then in a flash it was gone as she reached out to take the bag for him. When she didn't make a move to let him in, he questioned,"Can I come in or are you just going to take the food then slam the door in my face?"

Noelle looked at him for a minute in thought, making him think she really was going to do just that, until she gave him a short nod and stepped aside, opening the door wider to let him in.

He entered her apartment then turned to shut the door, turning all the locks for her, knowing somehow that made her feel better. When he turned back to face her, she was still standing in the same spot, looking lost and confused, and completely breaking his heart because he hated seeing her this way and there was nothing he could do.

"I'm sorry." Jamie softly said as he slipped his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out for her. He had a feeling how she would react if he did.

When he saw her mouth open to speak, he shook his head to stop her, then added,"No, wait, let me finish. I'm sorry for pushing you so much lately, but you know me, Nol, and you know if there is something going on with you, I can't let it go. We've always been a team, you and me, and there was nothing we couldn't handle together."

"Like that day at the park." He began to say. "The day you fell off of the merry-go-round and broke your arm? I was there, Nol, I dried your tears and carried you all the way home, and I would do that time and time again if I had to."

"I remember." She softly said. "But this is different."

"And what about the bullies? The ones from middle school?" He continued like he didn't hear her. "Do you remember what you told me when you finally admitted what was going on? You told me that they were making your life a living hell every day, but I was right there again. I walked you to all of your classes and I never left your side." He took a step closer to her, laying his hands on either side of her face, his eyes scanned over her face before catching her eyes. "I'll always be by your side, Nol, always. It's you and me against the world, remember? We're the dynamic duo."

He thought he saw a ghost of a smile on her face, when he brought up their childhood phrases, back when they use to pretend they were superheroes and ran around with capes her mother had sewed for them.

Back then they ran around their neighborhood solving crimes; like rescuing Mrs. Appleton's cat from a tree or the case of the missing garden gnome for Mr. Wayne. Back when they were J-Boy and Kid Kelley, they were the dynamic duo and no one could stop them.

They swore they could overcome anything together, they believed nothing in the world could bring them down as long as they had each other's back.

"I'm sorry for pushing you, Nol." He apologized again, before adding,"But I need you to tell me about Jimmie."

"Jamie..." She groaned as she took a step back from him.

He grabbed her arm to stop her,"No, don't do this again, don't walk away from me. Talk to me, Nol."

When she didn't say anything and lowered her head, he swallowed hard, knowing she was about to blow up at him for what he was about to say. "Was it the case?"

"What case?" Noelle asked confused as she raised her head to look at him.

"The one about his brother; Jacob."

"How do you..." She began to ask, until she realized how he knew. The confusion turned to anger as she quietly swore, then pulled away from him and began to walk toward the kitchen. She sat the bag of food down on the counter, then turned to face him as he walked into the room.

Folding her arms across her chest, she stated,"You were researching again."

"I know his brother committed suicide and I know you were the ME assigned to the case." He began to say. "Is that how you two met? You were on the scene to pick up the body?"

Noelle bit her bottom lip and gave him a short nod as that day came flooding back to her. It was like any other day, she had gotten an early morning text of an address for a pick-up. She had quickly changed, then grabbed her bag and arrived at the scene minutes later.

As soon as she exited her car, she saw a man a couple of years older than her sitting on the top porch steps. He looked devastated and lost, and she quickly realized he must be the deceased brother, and her heart went out to him- having a brother herself, she knew how much it would destroy her to lose him.

 _\- FlashBack -_

 _"Hey." Noelle softly said as she came to a stop in front of the tearful man sitting on the porch steps. While wrapping the body and loading it, she noticed he never moved, he never looked up and no one spoke to him- it was like no one cared enough to even speak to him._

 _When he didn't look up at her voice or even acknowledge her, she glanced around for a moment, seeing that most of the cops were leaving since they got everything they needed. She looked back at the man, she didn't want to make things worse for him by annoying him, but she also didn't want to leave someone if they needed help. Jamie would say it was because she had a big heart, she couldn't help herself._

 _She wiped her hands on her pant legs, then took a step toward him before sitting beside him on the steps. She turned her head to look over at him as she spoke up,"My name's Noelle Kelley... What's yours?"_

 _"Jimmie." He mumbled as he kept his head down and messed with a cell phone that was in his hands._

 _Noelle looked down at his hands, noticing how he would unlock the phone, but never made a move to call anyone. Instead he would tap the back of the phone twice, pause for a couple of seconds then tap it again before locking the phone back._

 _"Did you need to call someone?" She questioned._

 _"I have no one." He answered. "Jacob is all I have..." He paused briefly, then corrected himself,"I mean- had."_

 _"You don't have anymore family?" Noelle asked. When he shook his head to answer, she added,"What about friends?"_

 _Jimmie blew out a chuckle, before bitterly saying,"I don't have friends, most people find me creepy." He finally raised his head, getting his first glimpse of her and felt his heart beating in his chest. He had always heard stories about people falling in love at first sight, he just never thought it would happen for him, but here he was, sitting here with a beautiful girl and falling madly in love._

 _He smiled as he imagined her reaching out to lay a hand on his arm, her soft touch setting his skin on fire. She shot him a flirty look before saying in a sultry voice,'I don't find you creepy, Jimmie. In fact, I find you very handsome.'_

 _Noelle remained quiet as Jimmie stared at her with an eerie look on his face. She had no idea what he was thinking, she didn't know that at the moment he was imagining her coming on to him and that moment is what started the whole obsession. It all happened just that quickly._

 _She shifted uncomfortably, starting to regret sitting down beside him. She reached into her bag, pulling out a business card, then laid it on the step beside him, before saying,"That's the ME's office. If you have any questions feel free to call."_

 _"You want me to call you?" Jimmie asked with a surprised tone as she stood up from the porch._

 _"No, I mean- well I mean, I work there, but so do others." Noelle stuttered, trying not to give him the wrong idea. "So any of us can answer your questions and I'm sure the police will make themselves available to you as well, if you need anything."_

 _"Thank you, Noelle." He said with a menacing smile. She gave him a small nod, then turned to hurriedly walk away until he called out her name, causing her to slowly turn around to see what he wanted. "You got a nice voice. Very soft and calming. I look forward to hearing it again."_

 _\- End Flashback -_

That was the moment she thought about a lot, she went over it in her head a million of times and tried to figure out what she did wrong.

All she wanted was to reach out and help, but he took advantage of her niceness, and no matter how many times she told him it wasn't acceptable to send her gifts or ask him to leave her alone, nothing worked, he kept coming at her.

She finally stopped talking to him, stopping trying to reason with him and had hoped he would leave her alone, but it only made things worse. Once he found her cell phone number and home address things had escalated.

"Nol..." Jamie softly said, seeing tears fill her eyes. He took a step toward her, hesitant to touch her, he feared she was lost in a memory again, and he didn't want to spook her. "Nol, baby, look at me..." He added, using the same tone as before, until she finally locked eyes with him.

Without a word, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then pulled her toward him. She laid her hands on his sides and buried her face in his shirt, while he tightened his hold around her and kissed the top of her head.

The two stood silently in the middle of her kitchen, drawing strength from each other, just like they've done since they were young. He moved a hand up, intertwining his fingers in her hair, then pulled her head back slightly to look at her. He raised his other hand to wipe the moisture from her face before laying the hand on the side of her neck. The two stared at each other for a moment as he lightly ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

He kept his eyes on her as he slowly began to lean closer to her, making sure he wasn't making her uncomfortable or pressuring her, but when she didn't pull back he took that as a good sign and lightly brushed his lips against hers. He did that a couple more time, then pulled back to look at her again, waiting to see what she would do next. She looked up at him, her breathing labored, before she fell forward into his arms and her lips crashed against his.

He kept his one hand in her hair as her fist clenched the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her as the kisses began to turn rough and she lost herself in him. He lowered his other arm to rest under her butt, then lifted her up and felt her wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her in place then took a few steps forward to sit her down on the counter, neither one noticing the bag of food hitting the floor, all they noticed at the moment was each other.

Jamie gripped her hair tighter and pulled her head back, exposing her neck, before pressing his lips against her skin, causing her to let out a moan. He felt her fumbling with the buttons on the front of his shirt, then felt her slip a hand under the t-shirt he had on under it.

He nibbled her neck and moaned against her skin when he felt her lightly run her fingernails down his chest and to the front of his blue jeans. She grabbed on to the waistband and pulled him closer to her, feeling the bulge through his pants pressing against her.

With her legs wrapped tightly around him, she shifted her hips forward, rubbing against him and breathed out a chuckle when she heard him let out deep groan. His mouth left her neck and captured her lips for a heated kiss.

The two continued to heavily make-out until she felt something vibrating in his pocket, causing her to pull back, his name slipping from her lips to stop him.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't." She stated, cutting off his apology. "Don't you dare apologize for that. I only stopped you because of your phone."

"My phone? Wha-" He breathed out in confusion. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, seeing that he had a new text message. He quickly read the text from Melissa, informing him that someone was in her apartment now.

"What's wrong?" Noelle asked when she saw the look on his face.

"It's Melissa." Jamie answered. Knowing she had questions, he explained,"Melissa Samuels. It's this case me and Renzulli responded to, she's convinced someone is breaking into her place and moving things around."

"What?" She breathed out, feeling her mouth go dry. "What-What kind of things?" She asked nervously.

"She mentioned books and silverware being messed with." He said. "Then today she called again because her furniture had been moved and framed pictures were turned upside down. Renzulli's not convinced since she has no proof."

"There are certain ones smart enough not to leave proof." She pointed out. "Plus it's not about leaving a mark, it's not even about being noticed by everyone, it's about being noticed by one person. They make subtle little changes for just that person to notice. It's all for that _one_ person."

He looked at her closely, feeling like she was speaking from personal experience. He had a feeling if he asked her, she would just avoid the question, but at least the comment was another clue about her Florida past.

"What does she look like?" She asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I-I don't know, I didn't really pay attention." He said. Worried she was getting the wrong idea, he added,"I only gave her my number in case something happened and she needed help-"

"No, it's fine, I figured that's why." She cut him off. Jumping down from the counter, she added,"But, Jamie, this is serious, what did she look like? I mean, does she resemble me?"

He shrugged his shoulders, before saying,"Maybe, I mean, you are both brunettes."

"We need to go." She suddenly announced as she fled from the kitchen. She rushed through the living room and down the small hallway to her bedroom to change into a pair of jeans and slip on a pair of shoes.

Maybe she was being paranoid for nothing, she knew there was no proof it was Jimmie breaking into this girl's place, but what if it was? What if he had fixated on someone else too?

As she came back into the living room, Jamie left the kitchen, his shirt now buttoned, and a confused look on his face as he wondered what had her racing around and looking scared out of her mind.

"Where are you going?" He questioned as she began to walk toward the front door.

"To Melissa's." She simply stated.

"What? No!" He exclaimed as he began to walk behind her. "This is a police matter."

"I don't care!" She snapped as she spun around to look at him.

When she turned back toward the door, he asked,"Nol, what aren't you telling me?"

She spun back around, a terrified look on her face as she quietly admitted,"I think he's here. In New York."

"Jimmie?" He questioned, earning a nod in response. "What does that have to do Melissa?"

"Hopefully nothing." She answered. "But if it does and he's after her too, then we have to hurry..." Her voice trailed off, flashes of what happened to her raced through her mind like a flip book.

Her eyes caught his as she whispered,"Before we're too late."

•••

After arriving at Melissa's, the two jumped out of the car, and raced over toward her apartment building. He reached into his pocket to pull out the keys that Melissa had given him earlier that day. He unlocked the door, the glanced behind him to look at Noelle as he whispered for her to stay behind him. She gave him a nod, then slowly walked in behind him as they made their way inside.

As they neared the living room, he called out to Melissa, then felt Noelle tap him on the back. He glanced over at her from over his shoulder, making sure she was okay, and saw her nod her head to the side- at the same moment he saw someone running across the room from the corner of his eye. He yelled for Noelle to stay put as he ran after the man and tackled him to the floor.

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Noelle turned her head and seeing a woman; who she would guess was Melissa, running down them. She walked over toward the girl, seeing how frightened she was, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hoping to offer her some comfort.

The two girls jumped in surprise when Jamie punched the guy then slapped handcuffs on him. As he rolled the man over, Noelle lowered her eyebrows in confusion as she mumbled quietly to herself,"It's not Jimmie."

She blew out a breath, honestly not knowing if she should be relieved or not. She was glad he wasn't after Melissa, she knew first hand how dangerous he could be, but this meant there was a chance he was still out there waiting for her.

When she heard Melissa let out a cry, she tightened her hold on her, telling her everything was okay now. Melissa shook her head against the words as she cried out,"It's my brother. My own brother?"

Noelle pulled her closer to her and turned them away from her brother as she whispered words of comfort. She knew what it was like to have a brother betray you- her own brother had his own faults, but she didn't think he would ever do something like this to her. She couldn't imagine how it felt to find out a family member- someone who was supposed to love you and you were suppose to trust, was doing something like this to mess with you.

Minutes later, while Jamie walked her brother outside when more cops showed up, Noelle walked over toward Melissa; who was sitting silently at the kitchen table. Earlier she spoke long enough to tell Noelle where she kept the coffee, then went silent again while Noelle brewed it. Now the two girls were sitting across from each other, with a steaming cup of coffee each in front of them.

"I'm sorry about your brother." Noelle softly said.

"I just- I can't believe he would do this to me." Melissa said, wrapping her hands around the warm coffee cup. "My own brother? I mean, I knew we weren't that close before, but I thought..."

"You thought what?" Noelle asked when she paused.

The other girl raised her head to look at her,"I thought things were getting better. When everything started, he was the one who pushed me to call the police, of course, now I understand why he did."

"Why is that?" Noelle questioned, even though she was starting to put the pieces together herself.

"My brother was always troubled." Melissa explained. "He had every opportunity in the world, but with every chance he had, he screwed it up. My parents tried everything to help him when they were alive, but nothing worked. He got involved with a bad crowd, got into drugs real bad, so my parents had him cut out of the will." When she heard the girl across from her let out a bitter chuckle, she asked her what that was for.

"Maybe you and I aren't so different after all." Noelle said, then explained,"I have an older brother who's been in trouble basically his whole life. He has proven time and time again that drugs are more important than his own family. All I basically remember growing up are the fights- he was always fighting with my parents about something. Of course, that's when he was around, the rest of the time we had no idea where he was or if he was even alive."

Melissa nodded her head in agreement, then said,"And with a troubled sibling like that, sometimes it makes it hard to reach out for help, because you don't want to be a bother with everything else going on. You don't want to make any trouble and make things worse for your loved ones." She saw Noelle look down at the coffee cup in front of her, her words getting to her.

Hearing someone enter the room, the two girls turned their heads to see Jamie walking in with another officer; who wanted to take Melissa's statement. Noelle and Jamie sat with her as she recounted everything that had happened to her recently. Once she was done, she reassured the couple several times that she would be okay, she had a distant cousin she could call, but she thanked them both for their help.

As Noelle went to walk away, Melissa reached out to grab her arm to stop her for a moment. Noelle looked over at Jamie; who had paused outside the front door to wait for her. She held up a finger, asking him to wait a minute, then turned her head to look at Melissa to see what she wanted.

"There is one big way we differ." Melissa began to say. She gave a short nod toward Jamie; who was now talking to an officer who was sticking around until her family arrived, then said,"You have someone who cares about you, who will do anything for you."

Choosing her words carefully, not wanting to offend or upset her, she added,"I don't pretend to know what you have been through, but I do know how it feels not to have people believe in you, so when you find someone who does, hold on to that, and let that person be there for you."

Noelle turned to look at Jamie for a moment, knowing how lucky she was to have him by her side and all he wanted was for her to let him in, to let him help her. Usually she would have no problem doing just that, but this time was a lot more dire than times before.

Melissa watched how the couple looked at each other, even from across a room you could tell how much they cared for each other. She smiled, then said,"He spoke about you earlier today."

"Really?" Noelle asked surprised as turned her head back to look at the brunette in front of her.

"Mm-hm." Melissa said with a nod. "I don't mean to stick my nose in your business, but he's worried about you."

"I know." Noelle sighed as she lowered her head. "I know he is and all I want is to open up to him. It's what I've always done growing up, but this time-"

"You're scared." Melissa stated, cutting her off.

"Yeah." Noelle breathed out.

"I get scared, trust me... But do you know what's even scarier than knowing what you're running from?" When Noelle shook her head, she answered,"Not knowing what you're running from. He wants to help you and he wants to save you, but he doesn't know what he is protecting you from, and that makes him feel helpless. You can't fight the monster you don't know."

"I know, I do." Noelle said with a nod, then softly added,"But this is a monster I don't want him to ever know."

"He looks like he can handle a monster or two." Melissa began to say. She looked over at Jamie for a moment, then looked back at Noelle, before adding,"Especially if it meant protecting you."

"I have no doubt he would do whatever to protect me... he always has and that's the problem. I'm not worried about what Jamie would do to him, I'm worried what he'll do to Jamie." Noelle softly said.

She turned her head to look at Jamie, feeling tears fill her eyes as she imagined different, horrible scenarios of Jimmie hurting him or worse. It wasn't about him protecting her from a monster, it was about her protecting him.

•••

Many minutes later, Jamie parked his car beside hers again, then turned the car off. The two sat in silence for a moment, he could see her from the corner of his eye, she had her legs pulled up with her arms wrapped around them. He could tell from the look on her face that she had a lot on her mind, a lot that was weighing her down, making that helpless feeling he felt often came flooding back.

He blew out a breath, grabbing her attention as he asked,"You ready to go in?"

"Actually, can we stay here a little longer?" She asked back, causing him to look over at her in surprise. He had assumed as soon as he turned the car off she would have rushed inside to get away from him and his many questions.

"Of course we can." Jamie said, giving her a short nod.

"You remember when Joe took us to that away basketball game of yours?" She questioned after a few moments of silence. When he nodded his head, she continued,"It was late when we were coming home and somehow we got lost-"

"Even though Joe would never admit that we were actually lost." He cut in with a laugh.

"Right." She said back, a chuckle escaped her lips. She turned in the seat to see him better, before adding,"I remember it started raining, and I don't mean a small drizzle or something, I mean the bottom dropped and it began to pour down around us."

He nodded his head, knowing exactly what she was talking about, then said,"We tried to talk him into pulling over."

"But he wouldn't do it, he said he had it under control." A sad smile appeared on her face as she laid her head back against the seat, before softly saying,"And just like that, we trusted him."

As he nodded his head to agree with her, she added,"I remember sitting in the back of this car with you, looking out the windshield and seeing nothing but darkness and rain and I could never figure out how the hell he could see, but I trusted that he could. As long as we were with him, and especially in this car, I always felt safe."

Jamie turned his head to look at her, seeing her chin quiver as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. He reached out to grab one of her hands, locking their fingers together to let her know she wasn't alone. She was never alone.

"Growing up, I had a lot of safe places; like this car, my bedroom, our snow fort, your porch swing and the list goes on, but now, there aren't many places I do feel safe anymore and I hate that." She tearfully admitted. "I hate that he has taken so much from me and one of my greatest fears, is that he'll take the biggest source of comfort I have; the one thing that never fails to make me feel safe."

Seeing the confused look on his face, she gave him a small smile. "It's you, Jamie. You're my safe place and I'm terrified of him taking that away from me."

He shook his head as he raised their hands, bringing it up to his mouth to press his lips against the inside of her wrist. His eyes locked with hers as he promised,"I'm not going anywhere, Nol. No one can chase me away from you." He thought she was worried Jimmie could say something to turn him against her, but he swore that would never happen.

"It's not about him chasing you away... Jamie, I'm scared of what he'll do to you." She said, explaining one of the many reasons she was scared to confide in him.

"I'm not scared of him, Nol." He said confidently.

"That's because you don't know him." She argued. "You don't know what he's capable of."

He reached up with his other hand, wiping away a few tears that rolled down her cheek- tears she didn't even notice had fallen. He kept his hand near her face, softly caressing her cheek as he whispered,"Tell me."

"You were right earlier... I did meet him on a case when I was called in to pick up his brother's body." Noelle began to say as she thought about that day again. "Afterwards, I saw him sitting there looking so sad and, I dunno, I felt bad for him. He just lost his brother and all I could think about was-"

"Baylor." He finished for her. He gave her a small smile,"You and that big heart of yours."

"Yeah, well, this time my big heart got me in trouble." She said with a bitter chuckle. "I didn't know it at the time, but he has a whole bunch of mental problems, I don't even know what all he does have, but one thing I was told he has is something called erotomania. Basically, he would have these delusions and was convinced we were carrying out this grand love affair."

"It started small, and a bit innocent, he would send things to me at work or he would call just to talk to me. I told him countless of times that he had to stop, that this was getting out of control, but nothing I said made a difference." She added.

"The cupcake." Jamie quietly said. Turning his head to look at her, he added,"That time you got one at work and then got upset when you found out it wasn't from me. That was from him?"

Noelle gave him a shrug,"I don't know for sure, because there was no proof, he was always good about that. He was always smart about that... he was careful."

"What did he do when you told him to stop bothering you at work?" He questioned.

"He did. He quit sending me things and he stopped calling. I stupidly thought meant it was over." She said. Jamie looked at her closely, knowing there was more to the story and had a feeling it was going to get worse.

She blew out a breath, then added,"But that's only because somehow he got my cell phone number and address, then the harassment escalated." She looked down at their joined hands, tightening her hold on his hand to give herself strength, before she continued,"He began to leave gifts outside my door and call my number all hours of the night. At first I ignored him, I was stupid enough to believe if I did, he would get bored and move on, but that only made things worse; then after that, he started breaking into my apartment."

"Subtly moving things around, but leaving no proof behind?" He guessed, remembering her comments earlier when he told her about what was happening to Melissa. When she nodded her head, he scoffed before adding,"And let me guess, you went to the police and no one believed you?"

He knew he shouldn't be mad at the police, they were just doing what they were trained and without proof there wasn't much they could do. He remembered how even Renzulli commented that Melissa could have moved things herself. The cops in Florida probably thought the same about Noelle, but he knew if it was him, he would have listened, he would have believed and he would have helped her. Just knowing that she tried to reach out for help and someone turned her away set him off. He didn't lose his temper often, unless it involved someone he cares about, like in this instance.

"Nope." She mumbled. "You know the rules; no proof, no crime."

"Nol, I'm sorry..." He breathed out as he laid a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. He softly pecked her lips, then rested his forehead against hers, before he added,"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

He held her face in his hand, hoping that was the end of the story, but he feared that it wasn't, he had a bad feeling the next words out of her mouth was going to shatter his heart.

When he heard her breathing pick up, he pulled back slightly to look at her, a pained look on his face when he saw how upset she was getting. He swallowed hard, before quietly asking,"What happened next?"

"I never- I never saw him coming." She choked out. "I was leaving work and I felt someone grab me from behind and pull me into a dark corner of the parking garage I was walking through. I tried- I tried to hit him, I kicked, I did everything I could, but it wasn't enough. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out and that is when I realized he had placed a washcloth over my mouth. Next thing I knew I blacked out."

"He abducted you?" He questioned, even though he already knew the answer.

She nodded her head, before saying,"He told me that he didn't mean to scare me, he only wanted to surprise me, but when I fought him, he had to knock me out. In his mind he was being romantic, I guess. He thought I did want to go with him, but everyone in my life; my co-workers and friends, were trying to stop us. He was convinced if we ran away together then everything will be okay."

"The first time I came to, I was in the back of his van, which is when he told me his plan. He told me he was taking us to a special place. At first, I just kinda laid there, because I was still out of it, but once I realized what was going on, I lost it. I tried to scream for help and escape, I just knew if he took me somewhere, no one would ever find me. I remember reaching out for the door handle, I was trying to slide the door open, when I felt an electric shock and blacked out again. He had tasered me while my back was turned, and between being chloroformed earlier and the pain, that's what knocked me out. It was like my body shut down, I guess."

As she told her story, he turned to look out the windshield, his breathing quickening as he tried to get control of his own emotions. While she held onto one of his hands, he laid the other on the steering wheel and leaned forward to rest his forehead against it. He squeezed his eyes and could swear he could see what she said playing out in his mind. He could see her fighting so hard to get away, but her smaller frame was overpowered by someone bigger, honestly she never stood a chance.

"He took me- I dunno, just somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, that was his special place, I guess. I don't even know how he knew about the place, I never asked, but when I woke up again I was... I was chained to a wall. There-There was this heavy chain attached from my ankle to the wall and I was in some dark and damp basement. I could only walk about half way across the room, that was as far as I could go."

She paused for a minute, seeing how all of this was affecting him. She knew this would be hard for him to hear, and a part of her wanted to stop, until he gave her hand a squeeze, almost like he was telling her to keep going.

"While I stuck there..." She softly said as tears filled her eyes. "All I could think about was moments like this; being home, being with you, and I was starting to think I would never get back here. I was terrified that I would never see my family again or see yours. I was devastated at the thought of never seeing you again, Jamie. I thought- I thought I was going to lose you forever."

As her voice break off in a sob and she lowered her head, he turned to look at her, then pulled her toward him and held her in his arms. He kissed the side of her head as he whispered words of comfort, telling her it was okay, that she did make it home and that she was okay.

"Shh, it's okay, baby it's okay, I got you. You'll never lose me, okay?" He whispered in her ear, before kissing her head again. "No matter what, I'm here, and I won't let him near you again. I promise, Nol, you're safe now."

She nodded her head at his words as she latched on to him. She wanted to believe them, but she knew how persistent Jimmie was. He took her once and she was terrified he would do it again. She wanted to tell Jamie there was more to the story, she wanted to tell him the worst details, as well as all of her fears, but she was too drained to say a word- for now, she just wanted to stay in his arms where she felt safe.

For a moment she wanted to believe that this it and that everything was going to be okay, for a moment she wanted to believe that good did overcome evil, for a moment she wanted to believe she made it to the end of the story and this- was her happily ever after, and for a moment that was enough.

But back in the corner of her mind, she knew that this wasn't over, she knew the darkness was still out there waiting for her and she was terrified it was going to win. She knew this was only the beginning.

•••

 _A/N; N_ _ot gonna lie, this chapter took a lot out of me and her story is not over. The rest of what happened to her will be revealed in the next chapter. Also, let me just say, I don't know much about mental illnesses, so anything I use, it's not meant to be offensive or upset anyone, it's just for drama purposes._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to jlmayer, traceyaudette, Guest, Daniel Reagan, Eddie Reagan, lilnightmare17, mcgeeksgirl, Guest, Love. Fiction. 2016, Guest- Anica and BLBLF for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_ **  
**


	15. Tell Me Everything

**15; Tell Me Everything**

Next morning, as the sun shined in her eyes, Noelle let out a soft whine and went to pull the comforter over her head until she realized it wouldn't move no matter how hard she tugged on it. She rolled over and opened her eyes, a smile appeared on her face when she came face to face with Jamie.

The night before, after talking in the car for a while, they finally made their way inside and he afford to stay the night with her, which she quickly accepted. She remembered the two had laid in her bed, her under the comforter while he laid on top, but apparently at some point in the night he had gotten under the comforter and now had most of it wrapped around him, which shouldn't have surprised her, he was always more cold-natured than her.

Noelle watched him breathed in and out a few times as she folded her hands and rested them under her cheek to keep from reaching out to him. She wanted to run her fingers through his bedhead, she wanted trace his jaw with her fingertips and she wanted to run her thumb over his bottom lip, but she didn't dare touch him because above all, she wanted him to sleep more.

She knew he always had a lot on his mind; missing the ones he had lost, his new career, trying to take care of everyone with that huge, kind, heart of his and now she had laid her own problems on him. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him and pile more on his already full plate.

"Why are you watching me sleep?" Jamie sleepily asked, even with his eyes closed he was aware of her staring at him.

Hearing his words pulled her out of her own thoughts, she had never noticed he was beginning to wake up. She let out a soft chuckle, before saying back,"Why are you drooling on my pillow?"

"I don't drool." He argued as he rolled over onto his back with a laugh. He finally opened his eyes, then turned his head to look at her,"And even if I did, you have no room to talk with your snoring."

"I don't snore." She stated as she playfully punched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you." He joked as he pointed to this ear. "My eardrum is busted from all the loud snoring last night."

"Shut up!" She exclaimed as she hit him again when he began to imitate loud snoring to tease her.

She let out a squeal of laughter when he suddenly rolled over and pinned her under him before he began to attack her by tickling her sides. She let out another loud laugh and tried to push him off of her while wiggling under him trying to get away.

She yelled out his name, tried to grab his hands to stop him and even tried to bite him a couple of times, but nothing could get him to stop- nothing that is, until her shirt rode up some and he saw something on her side, something that looked a lot like a deep scar.

"What's that?" Jamie questioned as he stopped the assault on her sides.

"What's what?" Noelle asked confused, until she saw his eyes shift down to look at her side. Suddenly feeling exposed, she pushed him off of her and jerked the shirt down as she quickly sat up in bed.

"Nol, where did that come from?" He asked again. Looking at her, he saw her fold her across herself, as if trying to protect herself.

Remembering the scar he saw once on her ankle, he grabbed her leg and pushed the fabric from the pajama bottoms up to look at that mark closer. He lightly ran his thumb over the shorter scar, before adding,"And this one? Is this from being chained?"

Noelle shook her head and pulled her leg back. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, laying a hand around her ankle to cover the scar.

"There's a couple of swallow marks around my ankle, they're lighter and less noticeable at first glance, those are the ones from being chained." She explained.

"And the other ones?" He asked. He looked at her closely for a moment, then added,"There's more to the story, isn't there?"

When she ignored his question and turned her head, avoiding his eyes, he felt like he had his answer.

After telling him about Jimmie last night, when she didn't add anymore details, he just assumed that meant the story was basically over. He assumed it meant that Jimmie only had her for a short time before the cops found her and saved her.

He didn't know what made him assume that was how the story ended, maybe it was just wishful thinking or maybe it was because he couldn't stomach the idea of something worse happening to her, but either way, he was starting to realize he was completely wrong for thinking that way.

"Nol, what happened?" Jamie questioned. He watched her and saw her breathing pick up as the memories hit her and she tried to keep the tears at bay. He hated putting her through all of this, make her relive everything, but he had to know. The not knowing was torturing him.

"I never wanted you to know... none of you." Noelle quietly began to say. "I knew how badly it would hurt you to hear what happened and I never want to cause you any pain, Jamie."

"Hey..." He softly said, reaching out to grab her chin and turning her to look at him. "You're not causing me any kind of pain, but the not knowing, is killing me." He held her face in his hands, lightly running his thumb over her cheek, before he added, his voice barely above a whisper,"Nol, tell me everything."

"The scars are from when I tried to escape." She began to say. "As more days went by and help didn't come, I wanted to just give up, but I couldn't. I wanted to live, I wanted to see my family again, but most of all, I wanted you, Jamie. I wanted to come home to you."

He scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her toward him. He kissed the top of her head, before he whispered,"I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you home, Nol. I would have been there, I promise, I never would have stopped looking for you if I had known."

"I know." She whispered as she laid her head against his chest, clutching his shirt with her fist, like she was scared to let him go for fear of being jerked away from him.

Realizing what she said before, he asked,"Wait, you said days... how long did he have you?"

"A week." She quietly answered. When he pulled back to look at her, a shocked look on his face, she added,"Well, a little over a week. They said it was about eight to nine days, but it felt like longer to me."

"How did you get away?" He questioned as he lightly brushed a lock of hair from her face, then ran his finger down the side of her face as he stared at her. He didn't want to look away from her or stop touching her, mostly to comfort her, but also for himself as well.

"I had to pretend." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. Tears filled her eyes as she added,"I had to pretend I loved him."

As her vision blurred, it was like she could see it all playing in her mind like a movie, suddenly it was like she was back in that house again. The one place she never wanted to go back to.

 _\- Flashback -_

 _"Jimmie, Jimmie!" Noelle screamed out as she tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. She could hear him pacing back and forth above her, she knew he could hear her._

 _"Jimmie, I'm sorry, okay? I-I didn't understand before, but I do now. You were right, okay? You were right!"_

 _She waited for a minute, wondering if her plan would actually work, then she heard it- she heard his footsteps walking across the floor toward the basement door. Seconds later, she heard the door creak open, followed by his heavy footsteps coming down the stairs toward her._

 _After stepping off the last step, he began to walk toward her, the eerie smile that always made her stomach turn was present on his face. "Do you mean it? You really see it now?" Jimmie questioned her._

 _"Mm-hm." She muttered as she nodded her head._

 _She didn't think it was possible, but his smile became even more creepy, before he asked,"And what was I right about?"_

 _"Everything." She lied. "You-You were right, we belong together."_

 _Jimmie studied her quietly for a moment, making her worry that he wasn't buying her lie. If he figured out she was tricking him, she didn't want to think what he would do to her._

 _Finally, the menacing smile was back on his face, before he took a few steps toward her. He laid his hands on her sides, rubbing them up and down a few times, before he pulled her closer to him. She squeezed her eyes shut and held back the bile in her throat, when he buried his face in her hair and inhaled._

 _"We'll be together forever, Noelle." He whispered in her ear. She shuddered when she felt his lips against her skin, before he added,"You're mine forever."_

 _He pulled back to look at her, a giddy smile on his face. "I've waited for you all my life and I knew it... I knew it the moment you sat beside me that you are my one and only. I never knew why my brother had to die until that moment, but now I know I had to do it for you, so I could find you."_

 _"What do you mean you had to do it?" She questioned. "Your brother committed suicide."_

 _"No." Jimmie stated with a head shake, a chuckle escaping from his lips, like he was spilling a huge secret finally, and in a way he was. "I killed him." He admitted with a smile. "I didn't mean to at the time, it just- happened and I was devastated at losing him. He was all I had. But they told me it had to happen, they told me what to do with the body afterwards and they told me there was a plan, and they were right... they were right, because the plan was you. It's you, Noelle."_

 _"They who?" She asked confused._

 _"They... They! You know what they I'm talking about!" He yelled out as she shook her by her shoulders. He shoved her backwards, causing her to trip on the chain and fall with a hard thud to the floor. He ignored her cry of pain as he turned away from her in frustration_

 _Why was she asking these questions? She already knew the answers, they told her, they had to have told her already just like they told him._

 _He turned back to look at her as he shouted,"They! The universe, some higher power or-or whatever you want to call it, they said it! They said we're meant to be." He advanced toward her, causing her to shrink back, but she didn't get far when he grabbed her arms and pulled her up from the floor._

 _"They told you too, right? You heard them?" He questioned._

 _Her vision blurred, from pain and fear, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. When he yelled at her again, she jumped at his tone, then nodded her head repeatedly to answer him._

 _He breathed out a sigh of relief, then pulled her to him to bury his face in her hair again. He held her too tightly, making her feel like she couldn't breathe, but she was too scared to do anything, too scared to tell him to let her go._

 _"I knew it. I knew you heard it, I knew you were the one." Jimmie whispered as he continued to hold her close. He pulled back to look at her, placing his hands on either side of her face and squeezing a little too hard as he demanded,"Tell me you love me."_

 _"What?" She breathed out, hoping she heard him wrong._

 _He pressed against her face more, causing her to whimper out in pain, before he repeated,"Tell me you love me."_

 _"I-I lo-love you." Noelle choked out, trying to hold back a sob. She tried not to scream out when his lips were suddenly against her for a rough kiss._

 _She felt him backing her up toward the small cot he had placed out for her to sleep on, giving her a pretty good idea of where he wanted to take this. There was no way she could go along with that, that was where the acting ended._

 _"Wait, wait, wait." She mumbled out, trying to stop him. "We can't do this... I mean, not-not here." She stuttered, keeping up the act. She needed to find a way to stall him until she came up with better escape plan._

 _"You're right." He said with a nod. He ran his hands down her face, gripping on to the hair that had stuck to her damp cheeks, he gave her a smile as he said,"You're right. Our first time needs to be special, it needs to be perfect. It will be perfect."_

 _\- End Flashback -_

While telling her story, Noelle had stared straight ahead, as if in a daze, but when she heard a pained noise come from his mouth, she turned her head to look at him.

The look on his face was a cross between several different emotions at once. He hated that she went through this alone and even lived with the memories for so long by herself. Just the thought of this guy touching her made him sick to his stomach and made him want to punch something.

"Jamie?" She breathed out, when she noticed him balling his fist over the comforter so tight his knuckles turned white. She didn't see him get angry often, growing up she only saw him lose his temper a few times- like the time she caught her college boyfriend cheating on her, the look on his face before he punched the guy was similar to the look on his face now.

She softly said his name again as she reached out to lay a hand on top of his. He released the comforter and latched on to her hand. He felt her run her thumb over the back of his hand, her touch causing him to take a deep breath as he tried to calm down.

"What happened next?" He quietly asked, a part of him needed to know, but the other part dreaded it.

She cleared her throat, then lowered her head as she began to say,"After he unchained me, he took me upstairs to one of the bedrooms. He uh, his hands were all over me and he was- he was kissing me and I... I was just trying to think of a way out of it."

"Did he- Did he..." His voice broke off as he thought about what could have happened next. He tighten his hold on her hand and looked up at her with a hurt look on his face as he tried again,"Nol, please don't tell me he-"

"No." She cut him off, knowing what he was asking. She raised her head to look at him, fresh tears in her eyes as she relived that moment in her mind.

She reached up to brush the tears away, before continuing,"Before it got that far, I talked him into letting me go to the bathroom... to shower and freshen up, you know? I remember I was in a panic while I was in that small room alone. I knew I couldn't stay in there forever, but I couldn't go back into that bedroom either because I knew what was coming."

"I tried to open the window, but it was like, painted shut." She explained. "I looked all over that room, trying to find something I could use for a weapon. Finally I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my fist and tried to break off a piece of the mirror as quietly as I could." She shook her head, before adding,"But there was no way to break it off without making a lot of noise. So I just dropped the towel and punched it as hard as I could, it hurt like hell and for a moment I thought I broke my hand. It also made more noise than I thought and he heard it."

This time Jamie was the one rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand when he saw how upset the memories were making her. From her reaction, he could tell whatever happened next was the worst part of the story. It was going to be the part that really explained her fears, it was going to be the part that haunted her dreams, it was going to be the part that broke his heart.

"I could hear him at the door, he was beating on it, yelling at me to open it. The mirror had only cracked, I needed to hit it again." She began to say. "So I hit it a few more times, while he threw himself against the door. Right when the door popped open, I finally broke off a long piece of glass. He charged toward me and I just started swinging. I remembered I cut his cheek, then I stabbed him in the shoulder with it before running out of the room."

"I ended up in a long hallway, with all these others doors around me. I ran into each room, went right to the window, but all of them were nailed shut." She stared straight ahead, knowing what was coming next. "I found the stairs and went down them. I could hear him coming down the hall... He was so calm, so sure that he would catch me. He knew I was trapped and I couldn't get away..."

 _\- Flashback -_

 _"Noelle... Noelle." Jimmie called out in a sing-song voice. "You really disappoint me, Noelle. I thought you understood now, you told me you love me!"_

 _The brunette ignored his shouts as she continued to run down the stairs. Spying the front door, she ran over toward it, even though she didn't have high hopes that she could get out of it, and she was right. Desperate to find a way out, she did like before and ran into any room she came across, trying window after window, but like before, they were all nailed shut._

 _"You can't run from me, Noelle. You can't get away. No matter where you go..." He yelled out. He let out a laugh, before adding in a sing-song voice, "I'm gonna catch you... I'm gonna find you."_

 _She yelled out in frustration as she beat her hands against the glass, leaving traces of blood from the small cuts on her hand from punching the mirror before, then grabbing it to use as a weapon. She pushed away from the window and glanced around the room, looking for something to smash it open or something else to use as a weapon, but the room was basically bare with nothing useful in it._

 _Realizing that room was a bust, she stumbled out of it and looked around, wondering where he was now. She held her breath for a moment, listening for him, but he had stop talking and she didn't hear any footsteps either._

 _She leaned back against a wall and looked down at the end of the hall, once she rounded the corner she had a straight shot to the kitchen. She assumed the backdoor would be boarded up like the front, but she did remember seeing a window in the basement above the cot she had slept on. She knew there was a good chance it was nailed shut as well, but she had to have hope that maybe he forgot about that one, it was her last chance for freedom._

 _She laid her head back against the wall, trying to slow down her racing heart and catch her breath. She had no idea where in the house he was right now, he could even be waiting around the corner for her, but she hoped speed would be on her side, she had to hope she could outrun him._

 _She counted to three in her head, then took off running, rounding the corner and was relieved to see he wasn't standing there waiting for her. She rushed into the kitchen, jerking the basement door open, then rushed into the hell hole that had been her prison for the last week. She was halfway down the stairs, when she felt a sharp pain in her ankle, causing her to lose her footing and roll down the stairs, landing on the floor with a hard thud._

 _When she saw him coming out from behind the staircase she realized what he happened- he had been hiding under them waiting for her with the piece of glass she had stabbed him with earlier. When she had ran down the stairs he had used that to slice her ankle open._

 _Seeing him come toward her, she cried out and turned to crawl away from him, but he grabbed on to her injured ankle, causing her to scream out in pain. She tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing to grab as he pulled her back toward him, her nails scraping against the floor. He flipped her over and straddled her, trying to hold her still as she screamed and tried to fight him off._

 _"You can't leave me! You can never leave me!" Jimmie screamed over her cries for help. "You're my forever. My forever!" He yelled out, then in his rage filled mind, he stabbed the long piece of glass into her side._

 _Noelle's mouth dropped open in surprise, a scream falling short as she felt an unbearable pain in her side. Once he realized what he had done, she heard him screaming out her name and apologizing to her repeatedly as he jerked the glass out, but she ignored him as she tried to breathe through the pain, her body trembling in shock._

 _She didn't know how long she laid there, feeling her blood spilling out, until she heard a sound upstairs followed by the best sounding words in the world; someone yelling out her name and announcing they were the police. She lazily turned her head toward the stairs when she heard a set of footsteps coming down them. Before her eyes began to flutter shut, she saw it was Spencer racing over toward them, followed by several other cops._

 _Feeling someone press something against the wound, she snapped her eyes open with a cry of pain, seeing Spencer above her, while the other officers wrestled Jimmie to the floor to handcuff him. Jimmie yelled out to her, begging her to tell the cops this was all a mistake, that they were in love. He swore that he would find her again, that they would be together again as Spencer yelled at them to get him the hell out of there._

 _While they dragged Jimmie toward the stairs, Spencer turned back to Noelle, pressing the button down shirt he had ripped off to try to stop the blood flow. He glanced down at the white shirt he had on under it, seeing that some of her blood had ended up on it, the bright red smears began to blur as tears filled his eyes._

 _Hearing a whimper from her, he snapped his head to the side to look at her. "Hang on, Elle. Sweetheart, you have to hang on, okay?"_

 _She tried to nod her head, but it felt too heavy to move, everything felt too heavy. When she felt her eyes trying to close, she heard him speak up again, begging her to keep her eyes open and to look at him. She could even swear she heard him choke up as he continued to beg her to stay alive before everything went black._

 _\- End Flashback -_

"He-He almost killed you?" Jamie questioned, his voice full of emotion.

Noelle slowly nodded her head, before saying,"If Spencer didn't find me when he did..." Her voice had trailed off, both knew what would have happened if he hadn't got there when he did.

"You almost died." He repeated softly, as if he could barely believe what he just heard. Once the impact of those words sunk in, he jumped up from the bed and began to angrily pace back and forth.

"Jesus, Noelle, why didn't you tell us sooner? Hell why didn't you call us after it happened? I would have been there in a flash, you know that!"

"I know. I know, Jamie, but you just lost your brother months before that, I didn't want to put you or your family through that again." She tried to explain.

"You still should have called me. _Me,_ Noelle." He stated as he jabbed a finger in his chest to get the point across.

"And say what? Hey, guess what, I almost died, but don't worry because somehow, by the grace of God, I survived." She snapped as she stood up from the bed.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. "You should have at least called and said something. After all we've been through... out of all the times I have been right by your side, and the one time you needed me-"

"You couldn't have stopped it, Jamie." She softly said, interrupting him as she walked toward him.

"We don't know that." He argued. "Because you never told me!"

"I know, I'm sorry." She said, her voice barely above a whisper as she took another step, coming to a stop in front of him. She knew he wasn't really mad at her, just the situation, he hated that he couldn't have helped her in any way.

"I would have been there." He said, his tone matching hers. Laying a hand on the side of her neck, he added,"I would have been there, Nol. Danny and Dad too... everyone- the whole family would have been there, I know it. We all would have done something, we would have protected you. We would have done anything to protect you."

"I know." She mouthed as she nodded her head at his words.

A pained look appeared on his face as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers, holding her face in his hands. He knew from the beginning that something happened to her in Florida, but had no idea it was this bad, he had no idea how close he actually came to losing her completely.

With teary eyes and a voice full of emotion, he quietly said,"I can't lose you, Nol. I can't."

She pulled back to look at him, seeing a tear slide down his face. She reached out to wipe it away as she said,"You won't. I'm here, Jamie, I'm right here."

Her vision blurred as tears filled her own eyes and she said the two words she had never been able to say before, but for once she finally felt like she could. "I survived." Her voice was low, but had an air of confidence that he hadn't heard in awhile.

He pulled in a sharp breath, knowing how big that was for her to admit. His eyes scanned her face, feeling such pride that this amazing woman was in his life; that he got to grow up with her, that he got to be by her side through the good times and the bad, that he got to see her strength daily, and now he felt himself falling even more in love with her.

"You did. You survived." Jamie said with a nod, agreeing with her comment. "You fought like hell and you never gave up... you made it, Nol, and you have no idea how proud I am of you."

She looked up at him, biting her bottom lip to hold back tears at his words. She flashed him a small smile, then stepped forward to bury her face in his shirt and wrapped her arms around his middle, after revealing everything that happened it felt nice to be comforted by him.

She also had to admit it did feel nice to finally get everything out and not have to live the nightmare alone anymore, something Spencer told her from the beginning, she just never listened until now.

Jamie wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, then placed a kiss on top of her head. His heart felt heavy after everything she told him, he couldn't imagine how it made her feel- to not only live it once, but then to retell it and live through it again. He understood why it took her so long to open up to him about it. He was glad she finally let him in, but he couldn't deny that he felt a bit bad for pushing her so much lately.

The two held each other for a few minutes longer, until something on her dresser caught his attention. He nodded over toward it as he asked,"What is that?"

"What?" She questioned as she pulled back to see what he was talking about.

He sidestepped her and walked over to the dresser, picking up a ziplock bag that held a red rose; it was the one she found on her car the day before after leaving the gym. After spending most of the day looking over it with a set of gloves on, she had placed it in a bag for evidence.

Jamie turned it over, seeing the small note attached to it, reading the short word. He looked up at her confused as he asked,"What does this mean? What does ' _We_ ' mean?" Before she could answer, he took a step toward her,"Wait, last night you told me you think Jimmie is here... Did he leave this?"

"I don't know." Noelle answered honestly. "I found it on my car when we left the gym-"

"Whoa, wait, you mean yesterday?" He cut her off. "Yesterday, when we were at the gym together, standing in the parking lot and I was only steps away from you... You found this and didn't call me right then? What the hell, Nol!"

"It's not like we were on good terms in that particular moment, Jamie. I was frustrated, scared, embarrassed..." She paused for a moment, before adding,"And frankly, a little pissed at you."

He chuckled at her last comment, then asked,"And now? You still pissed at me?"

"I haven't decided yet." She joked, flashing him a smile.

Jamie shook his head, another laugh escaping his lips at her answer. Turning serious, he nodded toward the bagged rose,"What's with the one word?"

"It's something he use to do before." Noelle answered. "He would leave things, one at a time with one word, but once I had everything- there would be a phrase."

"Was that well-known? Like was it released to the media?" He questioned.

Feeling hurt, she shot him a look as she accused,"You don't believe me?"

"No, no, that's not what I'm saying." He quickly said as he approached her. When she went to turn away from him, he reached out to grab her arm and turn her back toward him,"I do believe you, Nol, I swear I do. I just- deep down, I'm hoping there is a chance this could be a copycat, I'm hoping like hell this guy isn't back. I mean, was he not locked up or something?"

"No, he was... he is, hopefully." She said, correcting herself. "He was offered a plea deal instead of standing trial, he was sent to a mental hospital."

"Was he released or-"

"I don't know." She interrupted with a head shake. "He's not suppose to be. When I started noticing little thing, I thought- well hoped, that I was being paranoid. Then recently when some criminals were released because of tainted DNA test, it made me start to wonder if there could have been some kind of mistake and he was released too. I've tried to get in touch with Spencer so he can check it out, but I haven't heard back from him yet."

"Is that normal for him?"

"Not really." She said. "If he does miss my call, he'll call me back within a day or so, same with texts."

Seeing the worried look on her face, he tried to ease her mind by saying,"There's no reason to think something happened to him, Nol. He could just be busy with work."

"Maybe so, I just... if Jimmie is back, I don't know what he'll do- how far he will take things to get me back." With the worried look still present on her face, she quietly asked,"What are we gonna do if he is back?"

"Then we're going to stop him... together." He said confidently. Nodding toward the bag, he added,"First step, getting this to Danny."

"No, wait..." She shook her head to stop him.

"What is it?" He asked, seeing the hesitation in her actions.

"I-I don't know if I can do this, Jamie." She said as she nervously play with her fingers.

"Hey, it's okay." He softly said as he laid a hand on the back of her neck and brought her toward him. He kissed her forehead, then pulled back to look at her as he added,"This isn't like before, no one is going to dismiss you and send you away. I believe you, Danny is going to believe you-"

"It's not just that." She cut him off with a head shake. "I-I don't know if I can go through it all again, at least not so soon." It took a lot out of her to tell him what happened, she wasn't strong enough to tell it again. "Give-Give me a day or two. I was going to run test on it anyways, I mean, I doubt he left any prints, but just to make sure."

"Okay." He said with a nod. "But then we're telling Danny, okay?" She hesitated for a moment, before finally giving him a short nod. He leaned forward to give her a soft kiss, before whispering,"You're not alone in this anymore, okay? I'm right by your side, Nol."

Noelle nodded her head, a relieved look on her face, before she laid her hands on the back of his neck and captured his lips. She put everything into the kiss; her fears, her worries, her feelings- she wanted him to feel everything. While she took the lead, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him while his other hand went to the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her hair.

After a few more kisses, he pulled back slightly, then mumbled against her lips,"Get dressed."

Noelle pulled back, shooting him a confused look as she joked,"You should be trying to talk me out of my clothes, not into them."

Jamie laughed at her comment, then brushed his lips against hers a few times, before pulling back and saying,"Trust me, there is nothing I want more, but I think there's something else you need right now."

"Food?" She guessed, causing him to laugh, of course that would be her first guess.

He shook his head then said,"Later, but first, we're hitting the gym again."

"Um, no we're not." She disagreed as she took a step back. After what happened the day before, she wasn't looking forward to stepping inside one again, which she explained to him.

"It'll be okay, we're not going back to that one." He said. "We're going to the one near the precinct, it's the one I use the most. I want you to work with my trainer; he's good, Nol, and he'll teach you what you need to know."

When she still looked unsure about it, he took her face in his hands as he added,"Look, if you are right, and Jimmie is back, we need to be ready. You know I'll be by your side and I'll protect you with my life, but if something does happen when I'm not around, I need you to be prepared for that too, okay?"

"Okay." She softly said, knowing he was right. If Jimmie did come after her again, he would do it when she was alone and the most vulnerable, meaning she needed to know how to fight back. She feared if he ever grabbed her again, she wouldn't be so lucky the next time. She feared the next time, she wasn't coming back alive.

•••

After a few hours at the gym, the couple were walking down the sidewalk headed for the car, which had to be parked near the precinct since that was the only available space at the time for him to park.

She was leaned against him, his arm wrapped around her, while she felt like she was going to pass out. She had never worked out that hard before, actually she barely worked out in general. The only thing that got her through the intense work-out and boxing lesson was his promise of taking her out for a late lunch afterwards. There was also a promise of cupcakes, which he told her he would get for her later since he had to start his tour soon.

Seeing a bench up ahead, she pulled away from him and stumbled over toward it, then plopped down on it with a tired groan. He shook his head and walked over to her, a laugh escaping his lips as he asked her what she was doing.

"I need a minute." Noelle breathed out. "Just one little minute."

"No." Jamie said with a laugh. He grabbed her arms to pull her up and nodded toward the side. "The car is just down there. It's not that far of a walk."

"But-But, I can't make it." She moaned.

"I'm going to feed you, remember?" He reminded her.

"I know, but-but can't you just bring me the food here?" She whined.

"Okay, come on, lazy bones." He said, ignoring her question and leaning over to toss her over his shoulder. It was something he did often while they were growing up and she was being stubborn, meaning he knew what was coming next.

"Oh, my God! Jamie! Put me down!" She called out as she hit him in the back. Luckily she was too tired to hit him too hard, unlike the times in the past when she done it so hard it brought him to his knees.

He ignored her request and slapped her on the butt, before saying,"You know the rules, Nol, if you're stubborn and refuse to move, I'll move you myself."

"Don't you think we have outgrown this, Jams?" She questioned.

"Not even a little bit, Nol." He said back with a smile.

"Okay, fine! I'll walk." She announced as her head began to hurt from hanging upside down. "Just put me down."

He paused for a minute to remove her from his shoulder and place her feet on the ground, earning him a punch in the stomach once she was on solid ground. He laughed at her antics and rubbed his stomach, before reaching out to playfully tap her on the side of the face, which resulted in her shoving him away from her before she began to walk down the sidewalk alone.

He let out a loud laugh, then began to walk along behind her. His longer legs caught up with her in seconds, then he reached out to grab her hand, which she fought him on for a few minutes, before finally letting him grab it. She turned her head to shoot him a grin as he intertwined their fingers.

After walking silently for a moment, she took in a deep breath, then released it with a smile on her face, before saying,"Do you smell that?"

"No, what?" He questioned as he turned his head to look at her.

"I smell snow." She said happily. "Snow is coming. I bet you it'll be here before Valentine's Day."

"You think so, huh?" He asked, seeing her nod her head repeatedly, reminding him of a bobblehead, causing him to let out a laugh.

He would have pointed out that there has been no talk of snow, but somehow she usually was right when it came to snow. He saw it time and time again when they were growing up, there was even a time she made him do a 'snow dance' with her to make snow come sooner, which was something he made her swear never to mention. It was a secret that would go to their graves.

"Well, if you are right, you're not pulling me out into it." He added. He can't count the times she had called him or knocked on his window to get him to come outside in the snow with her. He liked to tease her about how big of a dork she became when it snowed, but the truth was, he secretly loved it.

He loved seeing how giddy she looked over something as simple as white flakes falling around her. He loved the way her cheeks would flush as she ran around or the huge grin on her face before she tipped her head back to catch a snowflake on her tongue. Those were some of the moments he began to fall for her when they were younger, but he had to always shove those feelings away- now he didn't have to put a stop to his feelings.

"You're joking, right?" She scoffed as she jerked her head to the side to look at him. "Do you know how much snow I missed while living in Florida? We have a lot to catch up on, Jams."

"We'll see." He joked, knowing when that time came he wouldn't deny her. As he thought of another day coming up that she mentioned, he was silent for a moment, before saying,"So, speaking of Valentine's Day... you have any plans?"

"No, you?" She asked back. When he shook his head to answer, she added,"Hey, do you remember when we made the 'no date' pact? Every year, we would not make a date with anyone on Valentine's Day, and instead we would get together and eat boxes of chocolate and make fun of romantic comedies."

"You mean the romantic comedies you secretly loved?" He teased her.

"Yes, those." She admitted. When she noticed he was picking on her, she playfully punched him while telling him to shut up. After the two laughed for a moment, she continued,"Anyways, do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I do." He said with a nod. "We spent a lot of Valentine's Days together."

"I always loved that." She said, smiling over at him. "I know we were only spending it together as friends, but I always loved we were spending it together."

"Me too." He stated as he pulled her closer to him and kissed the side of her head. He was quiet for a moment, before asking,"So, do you want to pick that tradition up again?"

"You want to get together and mock romantic comedies?" She questioned.

"No, what I was thinking is instead of a 'no date' pact, we can start a 'yes date' pact." He suggested.

A grin appeared on her face as she asked,"Wait, Jamie Reagan, are you asking me to be your Valentine?" He chuckled at her question and nodded his head, causing her to coo, before adding,"Aw, the little girl in me is freaking out right now. She's been waiting for Jamie Reagan to ask her to be his Valentine for years, this is like a dream come true for her."

"Okay, now, I take it back." He joked. After a laugh, he brought them to a stop, then turned to face her, a serious look on his face,"All joking aside, Nol, will you be my Valentine?"

She bit her bottom lip, feeling her stomach flip-flop before a smile appeared on her face and she nodded her head. "I would love to, Jamie."

He grinned at her answer then he placed his hands on her hips and brought her closer to him before pressing his lips against hers for a tender kiss. Not wanting to get carried away in the middle of the sidewalk, he pecked her lips a few more times, then grabbed her hand before the two began to walk toward the car again.

They were all smiles and only had eyes for each other, until they realized someone was leaning against his car, causing them to come to a stop in confusion once they realized it was Sonny Malevsky.

"Well don't you two paint a pretty picture." Sonny said as the couple stood in front of him. He turned his attention to Noelle, before commenting,"You being at the scene the other day makes sense now."

Noelle narrowed her eyes at him, knowing what he was hinting at. He assumed since she was dating the commissioner's son, that's why she was getting some of the cases she was, but nothing could be further from the truth. The scenes she was called on was because she was good at her job and was well-trained.

She opened her mouth to comment, but felt Jamie squeeze her hand, wanting her to bit her tongue. Normally he would be all for her putting someone in their place, but not Sonny Malevsky- not with the things he suspected about him.

Sonny smirked at her, then turned to look at Jamie,"We didn't get a chance to talk the other day." He let out a laugh, before continuing,"Your brother, Danny- what a hot dog. Grandstanding that judge."

At his comment, Jamie nodded his head, unsure what to say back- he wasn't even sure why Sonny had approached him. His plan was to say as little as possible until he could figure out his angle.

"He's a good detective, though." Sonny said. "So was your brother Joe."

Now it was Noelle's turn to squeeze his hand, offering him some comfort when his brother's name was brought up. Jamie nodded his head, then said,"That's what people say."

"You know... we worked together, in the Warrant Squad." Sonny began to say. He paused for a beat, then added,"Lydia Gonsalves worked there, too, but... you knew that already."

Jamie instinctively stepped a bit forward, placing Noelle behind him. He had a good idea what he was up to now, he knew he was investigating the Blue Templar, or at least he suspected he was and this was his way of giving him a 'warning'.

"Boy, I bet, with your brother killed in the line of duty, your family worries about you. I bet you do too, don't you, sweetheart?" He questioned as he looked over Jamie's shoulder to look at Noelle causing Jamie to tense up. He flashed them another smile, then speaking to Jamie,"Just... make sure you're careful. It can be dangerous out here."

For a moment, no one said anything, then Sonny pushed away from the car, glancing at it from over his shoulder as he simply said,"Nice car."

Jamie stood still, watching as the older man walked away, then felt Noelle pulling on his hand to get his attention. She could instantly tell something was wrong with him. This wasn't a friendly little chat between them, there was more going on and she wanted answers.

"Jamie, what's going on?" Noelle questioned.

"Get in the car." Jamie stated, ignoring her question as he began to lead her toward it.

"Jamie, what-"

"Just get in the car." He repeated. He opened the passenger side, then looked over at her,"Please, Nol, just get in."

Seeing how spooked he was, she gave him a nod, then sat down in the passenger seat. After shutting the door, he walked around to the driver side, glancing around nervously, then slide behind the wheel. She watched him closely as he cranked the car and pulled out into the traffic. She waited until they were near her apartment before she asked him what was going on.

Jamie tightened his hands around the steering wheel, before saying,"I don't think Joe died in the line of duty, I think he was killed."

"What?" Noelle asked with wide eyes.

He glanced over at her for a moment, then looked back at the road as he quickly began to explain about the FBI approaching him recently wanting his help with their investigation into the Blue Templar. They were convinced the group knew Joe was closing in on them and killed him to silence him. He wasn't sure who all was involved, but he suspected that Sonny Malevsky was.

"So, wait, you're working with the FBI?" She questioned.

"No." He answered with a shake of his head. "Honestly, at first, I wasn't even sure how much I believed about all of this until I found something that made me believe."

"What?" She asked as he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

He parked his car beside hers, then shut it off, before turning to look at her. He nodded toward the glove box,"Open that." He waited until she did what he said, then he added,"The iPod inside is Joe's; will you grab it for me, please?"

Noelle nodded her head, then reached inside to grab the small device. He held out the earbuds for her to take, telling her there was something she needed to hear. She gave him a confused look, unsure what any of this had to do with Joe, but she trusted him.

After placing the earbud in her ear, he hit play and her mouth dropped open in surprise when she heard a voice she never thought she was hear again. Tears filled her eyes when she heard Joe say- _"Testing. Testing. This is Detective Joseph Reagan. Six months into my investigation of the Blue Templar. Big meet tomorrow. I think I'm in. My FBI contact was changed without explanation. I-I don't know if they can be trusted. I make this record separate from my recordings for them. More after tomorrow."_

When the message was over, she turned her head to look at Jamie, looking a cross between shocked and surprised, a look he assumed was his own when he first heard the message- it was almost like getting a message from beyond the grave.

"Other than you, I don't know who all I can trust with this... which is why I've been doing my own investigation." He explained to her.

"What have you learned so far?" She asked.

"Nol, no..." He shook his head. "I don't want you involved with this-"

"Look, Jamie, I know Joe was your brother, but he was also like a big brother to me too." She began to say, interrupting him. An angry look appeared on her face as she continued,"And if someone did kill him, if this group is involved with his death, then I want in- I want to help... for Joe."

•••

 _A/N; I thought the last chapter took a lot out of me, but this one killed me. The cute Nol x Jamie stuff helped tho lol._

 _Thank you to everyone reading or adding the story. Also big thanks to werks, BLBLF, Guest, lilnightmare17, traceyaudette, Daniel Reagan, mcgeeksgirl, BlueBlood82, Guest- Anica, jlmayer, SCARLETCOIN2012, Love. Fiction. 2016, Eddie Reagan and Guest for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	16. She's Mine

**16; She's Mine**

It had been a few days since Noelle told Jamie the whole truth about Jimmie and Jamie had confide in her about everything he knew so far about the Blue Templar. He had put that investigation on hold for the moment while they concentrated on Jimmie, and when he wasn't out protecting the streets, he was by her side protecting her. He never wanted to leave her alone, he would be stuck to her like glue while she was at work if he could.

He did call her as often as he could though, which is why she wasn't that surprised when her phone went off while she was walking down the hall heading for her office. She smiled when she saw his picture pop up, then placed the phone against her ear as she called out a friendly greeting.

"Hey, how's it going?" Jamie questioned.

"You mean in the last ten minutes since you followed me to work?" Noelle asked back.

He chuckled at her joke, then said,"Okay, yes, I know I'm being overprotective."

"A little bit." She said. "But I'm not complaining. I'm glad I have you by my side, Jams."

"That's the only place I want to be, Nol." He said honestly.

She smiled at his words, as terrified as she was, she had to admit it felt nice knowing she had Jamie to lean on. She was still scared for him as well, scared that Jimmie would do something to him, but he reassured her several times over the past few days that he could handle it. He almost wished Jimmie would come after him instead, then he knew she would be safe from his terrorizing- plus he would love the chance to take him down and slap handcuffs on him.

"But just so you know, I didn't just call to check on you, I also wanted to double-check that you're off tomorrow, right?" He questioned. When she answered that she was, he smiled then said,"Good, you can come to Sunday dinner then."

"Hmm, and why should I come to Sunday dinner?" She questioned as she pretended to think about it.

"Well, for one, I want you there... I want to see you, I want to spend time with you..." He began to say, listing out a couple of reasons.

"You've been seeing a lot of my lately." She pointed out, referring to the fact that he had stayed over at her place the last few nights, not that she was complaining. "Does this mean you're not growing tired of me?"

Jamie laughed at her comment, then said,"Nol, I've known you since we were kids, if I haven't grown tired of you yet, I don't think it's going to happen."

"Good to know." Noelle said with a grin. "So, I'm coming around to the idea of dinner, any other way to temp me?"

"Well, let's see, I do still owe you cupcakes." He stated, reminding her of when he promised to buy her some after she agreed to the boxing lesson recently.

"So, wait, let me get this straight..." She began to say, coming to a stop in the hallway a few doors from her office. "You're going to go to my favorite bakery just to buy cupcakes if I come to dinner?"

"Actually, no." Jamie said with a laugh. "But I will grab cupcakes from the place near dad's. They're pretty good."

"Hmm, okay, not bad." Noelle said. She began to walk again as she added,"Especially since I was going to go anyways."

"Very sneaky, Nol. I don't know if I should be mad you tricked me or impressed." He joked. After she laughed at his comment, he added seriously,"But I am glad you are coming. The family misses you, plus this way they can bug you with the questions."

"What questioned?" She asked confused.

"Questions about us." He answered.

"Oh." She breathed out. She shouldn't have been surprised that his family was asking questions, most of them knew they went on a date recently. She couldn't help but wonder what he told them since they haven't had the talk yet to define their relationship.

But she couldn't help but think about how different their situation was; since they started out as best friends and bypassed all the 'getting to know each other' dates that went along with dating, did that mean they went right into a relationship or did he consider them as just dating?

"Yeah, I never know what to say when they ask so I just change the subject." He said, basically answering her question without her even having to ask.

He was curious about what they were at the moment as well. They have been on a few dates, had several make-out sessions and lately he has been staying at her place- which were things that usually happened in serious relationships, but it had only been a few weeks, was that too soon?

"Well, I guess we can just ignore their questions together." She joked as she walked into her office. She opened her mouth to say something else, until her eyes landed on her desk and she saw an orange rose laying there, causing her to come a quick stop, a gasp escaping her lips.

"Nol? What's wrong?" Jamie asked as he gripped the phone, expecting the worst when he heard the noise she made.

"Jamie... There-There's another rose." Noelle said, her heart beating in her chest.

She heard him softly swear before saying,"Okay, look, get out of that room and go somewhere you feel safe- preferably with a lot of people. I'm going to call this in and me and Renzulli will be there in a few-"

"No." She simply said, interrupting him. "Just-Just give me a minute." She added, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"What? Are you crazy?" He questioned, getting frustrated. This was why he was sticking close to her so much lately, trying to protect her from things like this, but yet here they were- she was there having to deal with this alone, while he was stuck in another part of the city.

Noelle ignored his question as she glanced around for a minute, spying a pair of gloves and grabbed one. She took a few cautious steps toward the rose, then reached out to pick it up with the glove between two of her fingers. She tilted her head to the side, seeing a small note attached to it with one word again- this one said 'Will'.

"This one has a note too." She spoke up, telling Jamie what the single word was.

"We Will..." He softly said to himself, thinking of the two words they had so far. "What could he be saying?"

"Who knows." She mumbled as she grabbed a new evidence bag from a drawer and dropped the rose inside of it. "I'll run a test on this one too. The last one didn't have any prints and this one might not either, but just in case..."

"Good plan." He said when her voice trailed off. "You know what else is a good plan? Calling this in!" He said harshly, not understanding why she wasn't calling for help right this instant.

"I know, I know, but..." She paused for a moment in thought. Even though her father was retired, she knew he still had a scanner and listened to it often. He also still had contacts at the station, and the last thing she wanted was for him to find out about all of this that way. She knew she needed to sit him down and tell him everything first, which is what she explained to Jamie, hoping he would understand her hesitation.

"Okay." He said with a nod. "I can understand that, Nol, I really can, but we can't just sit on this."

"I know." She sighed.

"Look, baby, I know this is hard for you." He began to say, desperate to get through to her. "And I know there was a time you tried to reach out for help, but was turned away- that's not going to happen again. You have a support system here, we will all be here for you."

"Jamie-"

"I also know you went through hell and it was hard telling me about it, but you don't have to tell every detail if you're not comfortable doing that. Just give the basics." He said, cutting her off. "And just know, while you're giving your story, I'm going to be right there with you, okay? I'm going to be right by your side, Nol, all you have to do is lean on me, okay? We will get through this together. It's you and me against the world."

Turning away from the rose, not wanting to look at it any longer, she softly smiled at his words, then blew out a breath before saying,"I still want to talk to my dad first before he hears about it, but after your tour is over, we can go talk to Danny."

"Okay, okay, that's a start." He said with a smile. "We'll go talk to Danny this evening and tell him whatever parts you are comfortable telling him, okay?"

"Okay." She quietly said. She was still hesitate about telling Danny. It was nothing personal, she trusted him completely, but there was still that fear of rejection and the fear of being looked at like she was crazy. She saw that numerous of times in Florida when she tried to go to the police for help. Plus, even though she was finally able to open up and tell Jamie everything, she was nervous about telling the story again. It was still so real and so fresh to her, and she wasn't looking forward to going back to that time in her mind.

"It's going to be okay, Nol." Jamie said, trying to comfort her. He hated that he wasn't there in front of her, he hated that he couldn't hold her right now- he needed that now as much as she did.

Seeing his partner out of the corner of his eye trying to get his attention, he knew it was time to end the call and get back to work. He pressed the phone closer to his ear and let out a sigh, wishing he didn't have to hang up with her.

"Listen, I need to get back, Renzulli's shooting dirty looks my way."

"Okay." She said with a chuckle. "Tell Renzulli to be nice to you or he'll have to answer to me."

"I'll tell him." He said, laughing. "He'll deny it, but he is scared of you. I think it's all the stories I've told him."

"Wait, what stories have you told him?" She questioned.

"What? Sorry, I didn't hear that. Gotta go!" He exclaimed, then ended the call before she could say anything else.

She shook her head at his antics, then lowered the phone with a chuckle on her lips. She turned toward her desk to lay her phone down, her eyes falling on the rose.

She blew out a breath, remembering what Jamie told her, that he was by her side with this. She was still terrified involving him, but it also helped having him supporting her, it felt nice not being so alone anymore.

•••

While Jamie talked to Noelle earlier, Renzulli had been waiting in line to buy them streaming hot cups of coffee. Now off of the phone, Jamie walked over to him, grabbing a styrofoam cup from one of his hands- being informed that he was buying next time, then the two began to walk down the sidewalk together.

He took a sip of the coffee, his eyes landing on the mound of snow pushed off on the side and couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face. Noelle was right, it did snow before Valentine's Day.

It had started the night before while the two were cuddled on her couch watching a movie. Once she saw the small flakes falling outside the window, the movie was quickly forgotten and she was grabbing his arms to drag him outside.

As much as he teases her about the way she acts when it snows, he had to admit it was nice for a moment to forget everything- the Blue Templar, all things Jimmie, and just play in the snow with her like when they were kids.

It had been a while since he laughed as hard as he did that night as he watched her run up and down the sidewalk, then began to spin around in circles in her pajamas and rain boots. He couldn't stop himself from charging after her and chasing her around, before he was able to corner her and throw her over his shoulder. She let out a loud squeal of laughter as he began to spin them both around. The only downside- he didn't realize she had a handful of snow in her hand, which she dropped inside his shirt which started a massive snowball fight between them.

Afterwards, he had carried her inside on his back once she complained that her feet were too cold to walk. The two sat side by side on the couch drinking hot chocolate to warm up, which was followed by a heavy make-out session. In his opinion, kissing her was better than any hot beverage.

He couldn't even explain how it felt when his lips were against hers, when his fingers touched her skin, or when she moaned his name. Just kissing her did things to him no other girl had done before, he couldn't even imagine how it would be to have sex with her- which was something he had been thinking about more and more lately. He would never push her with that though. It was hard, but he could wait.

"So, are things going good with you and the ME?" Renzulli asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, why?" Jamie asked back, for a moment he was worried that he had picked up on what was going on with her or had overheard something.

"Valentine's Day is coming up. I was wondering maybe if you two have any big plans." Renzulli answered.

"Actually, yeah, we do." Jamie smiled as he took a sip of his coffee. "Well, we're going to do something... I'm just not sure what yet."

"All ideas and no plans?" Renzulli guessed, referring to when he said a similar thing while planning their big first date.

"Something like that." Jamie said with a sigh. Most of his problem was he wasn't sure how romantic to go; he didn't want it to seem like he was expecting more from her or scare her by coming on too strong.

Wanting the spotlight off of him, he turned the question back to his partner, asking him if he had any plans.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Renzulli answered.

"Really?" Jamie questioned, curious what he had planned. Remembering what he did last time for a special day, he added,"'Cause I don't know how you're gonna improve on that snow globe that you got your wife for your anniversary."

"Hey, she shakes that snow globe every day, I'll have you know. Says it makes her feel peaceful." Renzulli said. "Plus you can't judge. You said you gave your girl a snow globe once too."

"That was different." Jamie argued. "We were just friends then and it was for her birthday. But this is Valentine's Day..."

"Right and Valentine's Day... that's when I go all out, kid." Renzulli stated.

"What's all out for you, Sarge? Two-for-one Mondays at the Pig-n-Whistle?" Jamie joked.

"What would you say to a window table at the Waterfront Cafe?" Renzulli began to say as they came to a stop. Setting the scene, he added,"With a view of Manhattan and a bottle of champagne sitting on the table, chilled, waiting for us?"

"I'd say that sounds pretty romantic." Jamie said impressed, it also made him feel a little bummed. He wished he could do something like that for Noelle, but he didn't have that kind of money.

"Yeah? Well, uh, that ain't where I'm taking her. At least, not till I make captain's money." Renzulli said, causing his partner to chuckle. "But I do make a pasta fazool that she loves."

"Your wife's a very lucky woman." Jamie said with a nod, only half-joking.

"She is." Renzulli said back, before he began to walk again. His comment was a joke, because in his mind he was the lucky one.

Seeing his partner walking beside him with his head down, he glanced over at him for a moment, before saying,"Chin up, rookie. I'm sure you'll come up with something for Valentine's Day. You did knock it out of the park with the date, remember?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how big I should go." Jamie said, speaking out some of his earlier thoughts.

"Well, it's Valentine's Day... it's a day of romance. I think most girls expect that right off the bat." Renzulli pointed out.

"But what if she is expecting causal and I go all out?"

"Wait..." Renzulli said before coming to a stop and facing his partner. "Have you two not had 'the talk' yet?" After Jamie shook his head, he added,"I thought girls were big on that."

"Nol's not like other girls." Jamie said with a smile. She had always been like one of the guys growing up- a tomboy; but also had a touch of girly girl in her. She could drink with the best of them, eat her weight in one of her many favorite snack foods, and kick his ass in basketball. But she also loved daisies and flower crowns, cried during Disney movies and was a closeted romantic. He had always loved that about her, he loved all the little things that made her different.

"I think first off, you need to figure out what you two are." Renzulli said, trying to help the younger man. "Then plan accordingly." He paused for a minute, then added,"And if push come to shove, there is always the two-for-one Mondays at the Pig-n-Whistle."

"Funny." Jamie said sarcastically before he shook his head and let out a laugh at the joke.

"What about cooking?" Renzulli suggested as the two began to walk again. "Like I said, I'm cooking for the missus. A little dinner by candlelight and wine. She always says there is nothing more romantic."

"I can make linguine with garlic and oil." Jamie said, remembering when his dad taught him how to make it. He told him he needed to learn to make at least one good meal for when he started dating.

Thinking of other things he could make, he added,"I can actually bake better than I can cook. Nol's mom use to teach us different recipes when we were growing up." He smiled at the memories, then as Noelle crossed his mind, he added,"And luckily my girl has a sweet tooth."

"Well there you go." Renzulli said, throwing out his arms. "Now you have an idea to build on."

Jamie nodded his head, a smile appeared on his face. "And I think I have a couple more to add to it."

"Attaboy!" Renzulli exclaimed as he playfully slapped him on the back. "Stick with me, kid, and I'll turn you into a romantic like me before you know it."

"God help us all." Jamie said sarcastically, causing Renzulli to shoot him a look, before the two began to laugh. He liked to joke with him a lot, but he did look up to Renzulli. He was a good honest man, great at his job and loving to his wife; all things he wanted to be as well. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Renzulli began to rub off on him.

•••

That evening, after finishing his tour, Jamie changed into his regular clothes, then headed for the building Noelle worked in. She was surprised to see it was so late already. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise though, since finding the rose earlier that day, she had threw herself into her work, trying to stay distracted.

Noelle asked him for a few more minutes while she finished up a report, then the two left for the 54th precinct after dropping her car off at her apartment building. Once they made it to the precinct, they walked inside and headed straight for Danny's desk as he was finishing up with a phone call.

"Hey, Danny, we need to talk to you." Jamie said while he and Noelle approached his brother as he slammed the phone receiver down.

"Damn it, who called you?" Danny questioned with a sigh. He stood up from the desk, then turned his attention to Noelle,"I was going to call you myself, but there wasn't much I could tell you right now. We're still looking for Baylor-"

"Wait, Baylor? As in my brother Baylor?" Noelle asked with wide eyes. "Wh-What happened?"

"Hold on, that's not why you two are here?" Danny asked as he shot them a confused look. When Noelle shook her head, then asking him again what happened, he began to explain,"We're in the middle of a kidnapping case and today was the ransom drop." He paused for a moment, then blew out a breath before admitting,"Baylor showed up at the drop."

"He's involved with the kidnapping?" Jamie questioned for her when she grew silent. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him and earning a raised eyebrow from his brother at how close the two were.

They had always had a close friendship, but this was way more intimate. He had heard talk about the two going on a date recently, which in his opinion was about damn time, but no one knew what was going on between the two after that since Jamie always avoided their questions.

Getting back to the subject at hand, Danny shook his head to answer the question, then said,"Someone promised him a hundred dollars if he showed up for the drop. He says he's never seen the guy before, but Noelle, I got to tell you... he looks bad. He was high out of his mind and begging for another fix."

She shook her head, feeling tears fill her eyes. She had hoped after his close call recently he would have learned his lesson, but she should have known better. As soon as he split from the hospital instead of coming home with her, she should have known that meant he was going back to his old habits.

Seeing she was getting upset, Jamie laid a hand on the back of her head and pushed her head down to rest against his chest. He looked over at his older brother, then asked,"Where is he now?"

"Well, that's where we ran into a problem." Danny said. "We were in the process of sending him to Bellevue to give him a little methadone, but he slipped past the officers and disappeared."

"How did he get away?" Jamie asked, even though he already had an idea what the answer would be.

This was classic Baylor Kelley, he was always good at pulling vanishing acts that left people scratching their heads in confusion. Sometimes he had wondered if it was a Kelley family trait since Noelle was good about sneaking out of her room and appearing in his without being noticed when they were younger. He couldn't count the times he woke up to find her crawling into his bed when she was upset about something.

"It's Baylor!" Danny simply said as he threw out his arms to get his point across. "You know that boy can give Houdini a run for his money." Turning his attention to the silent girl pressed against his younger brother's side he said,"Don't worry, Little Bit, I got uniforms out canvassing the neighborhood. He's not going to disappear on my watch again."

"Thanks." Noelle softly said as she raised her head from Jamie's chest. "But we both know you're not going to find him unless he wants to be found." She paused for a minute, then added,"And maybe that's for the best."

"What?" Jamie questioned her, shocked that she would even suggest that. He knew how much she worried about him on a daily basis and one of her greatest wishes was he would finally come home and get the help he desperately needed.

"Look, it's not that I don't want him to be found... but maybe sometimes it is better to just disappear." She quietly explained, thinking of her own situation. If she could, she would walk away from everything and go deep undercover where Jimmie could never find her.

"Let me tell you a couple of things..." Danny began to say to the couple in front of him. He held up a finger before adding,"One; disappearing from your problems is never the answer. All it does is prolong the problem and it'll always be there when you do come back."

Jamie nodded his head in agreement then turned his head to look at Noelle, noticing how deep in thought she was, which worried him slightly. He turned back to look at his brother as he asked,"What's the second thing?"

"The second thing- which is the most important; you never give up on family." He reached out to grab his jacket from the back of his chair and slipped it on. "Now, I have to go talk to the parents of a young girl and let them know the drop didn't quite work out the way we had planned."

Danny took a few steps past them, then turned back to say,"Wait, if you two weren't here because of Baylor, what did you need to talk to me about?"

Jamie turned to look at Noelle, waiting to see what she would say, he wasn't all that surprised when she shook her head, then said,"We'll talk later."

"Okay." Danny nodded. He pointed at them as he said,"Tomorrow, at dinner, we'll talk. You both going to be there?"

Noelle nodded her head to answer, then watched as he walked away. She could feel Jamie's eyes on her, she could also feel his disappointment at the fact that she didn't say anything when she had the chance.

She turned her head to look at him, giving him a short shrug as she tried to explain,"He was busy, Jamie, but you heard him, we'll talk to him tomorrow and tell him everything then."

Jamie scoffed at the comment and shook his head before turning around to leave the precinct in frustration. Noelle lowered her eyebrows in confusion, then began to follow him out the door. She caught up to him outside as he had his arms laid out on the roof of the car and his head resting on his arms.

"Jamie..." She softly said as she came up behind him.

"I'm sorry." She heard his muffled voice say. He laid his hands on the car, then pushed away as he turned to face her. "I know I shouldn't have just walked out on you, but I just... I'm frustrated and pissed off!" He stated, getting his feeling out. "And don't think I didn't see the look on your face when you were talking about disappearing. You're thinking about it, aren't you?"

When she avoided the question and lowered her head, he blew out an annoyed breath, resting his hands on his hips as he questioned,"You would do that? You would just pack up and leave again?"

When she continued to avoid him, he turned away from her as he shouted out,"Damn it, Noelle!"

"Do you think it was easy for me to leave last time?" She questioned as she snapped her head up to look at him. "Because it wasn't! I cried myself to sleep every night for the first few months. I missed my family, I missed my home, I missed you, Jamie! We have never been separated... I always had you to fall back on and suddenly I didn't. I had to learn to live without you and it was hard as hell."

She paused for a moment, trying to get control of her emotions, then getting back to his question,"But no, I don't want to leave, but I also don't want to risk losing anyone I care about because of Jimmie."

"Nol, I'm not scared of him-"

"But I am!" She yelled out, interrupting him. "Jamie, I am _freaking_ terrified of him, and if disappearing meant not having to come face to face with my worst nightmare again, then yeah... I'm considering it."

"No." He simply said as he shook his head. He took a few steps, coming to a stop in front of her, then added,"I didn't say a word last time- I just stood there and watched you board that plane to Florida, but I refuse to do that again, Nol. Do you have any idea how much it killed me to say bye to you?

"You said you had to learn to live without me, well guess what? I had to learn how to live without you too and I never fully learned how to do that."

He laid he hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him as he softly said,"I can't live without you, Nol."

As she gave him a small smile, he leaned forward to press his lips against hers for a gentle kiss. Afterwards, he paused with his lips inches from hers, until she went to kiss him, causing him to pull back.

He shook his head, before saying,"Nope, none of that, not until you give me a smile, Nol." She rolled her eyes at his request, then gave him a big fake smile, which basically consist of her baring her teeth at him. He laughed then added,"When I said smile, I meant real smile, not creepy smile. Come on, baby, give me a real smile."

He playfully tickled her side, causing her to let out a squeal as she tried to pull away from him. He laughed at her antics, then wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back toward him.

"Get back here and let me see that smile. I wanna see that famous Noelle Kelley grin that we all know and love."

"Okay, okay, stop!" She exclaimed as she slapped his hand away from her side to stop him from tickling her. She laid her hands on his chest, then looked up at him as she flashed him a genuine smile. He returned the smile, before saying,"There it is. There's the smile."

"You are such a goof." She joked as she shook her head at him, a chuckle escaping her lips. He had done things like this since they were kids. Anything he could do to get her to smile or laugh instead of fighting with him or to cheer her up- he would do it.

"That's my girl." He said, ignoring her comment. A grin appeared on his face as he laid a hand on the back of her head, before whispering,"Come here." Seconds later their lips were joined together and his fingers were intertwined in her hair.

As much as he wanted to keep kissing her, he knew standing in the middle of the precinct parking lot in front of everyone was not the time to get carried away. He forced himself to pull back, but made no move to step away from her just yet. He smiled, noticing some of the stress on her face from before had faded away. He knew there was still a lot on her mind- as was his, but he was glad that for a moment, he could distract her and make her happy.

He kissed the tip of her nose, then pecked her lips one more time, before nodding toward the car, telling her to get in. He opened the door for her, then began to walk around to the driver side.

Before she could sit down, he stopped her by calling out her name. When she looked over the car at him, wondering what he wanted, he smiled before saying,"And as far as you disappearing, that's never happening, I'm not letting you walk away again."

For a moment she didn't say or do anything, making him worry for a minute that she was still considering it, until a smile appeared on her face and she gave him a nod. He reached out over the roof of the car, wanting her to give him her hand.

After she reached out to lay her hand in his, he lightly ran his hand across the back of it, before saying,"I know you're scared and you have every reason to be, but we're going to get through this together, okay?"

Noelle pulled her hand from his and held up a fist,"The return of the dynamic duo."

"J-Boy and Kid Kelley... kicking ass and taking names." Jamie added as he bumped his fist against hers, then pulled it back and made a noise to simulate an explosion.

She threw her head back and let out a loud laugh before calling him a dork. He gave her a wink, then opened his car door, before saying,"Come on. Let's go home."

As he slide behind the wheel, she couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her face at his comment. She felt a fluttering in her stomach at him referring to her place as 'home'. She might not know where they stood at the moment, but the place they were at seemed pretty great.

•••

"What are we doing here?" Noelle questioned minutes later as he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex.

"I need to grab more clothes." Jamie stated. He usually kept an extra set or two of clothing in the trunk of his car, but he already wore those a couple of times.

"I could always dress you in my clothes..." A grin appeared on her face as she added,"Again."

He shook his head, hearing her let out a chuckle as they both thought about the time he lost a bet and was forced to wear something of hers for the whole day. He swore he was still scarred from that.

"It wasn't that funny." He tried to argue as he pulled into a parking space.

"Hey, I did end up letting you wear your own blue jeans instead of making you wear a pair of my jean shorts." She pointed out as she turned to look at him.

"Yeah, but I still had to wear one of your plaid button down shirts..." He began to say. He shut the car off and shuddered before adding,"Tied at the waist."

At his last comment, she couldn't stop herself from falling against the car seat and letting out a loud laugh when the imagine crossed her mind.

Even though she was laughing at his expense, he couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face as the delightful noise rang throughout the car. He had always loved when she lost control and really laughed- to him it was the best sound in the world.

"I'm starting to think I need a new best friend." He joked.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She breathed out in between chuckles. She laid a hand on his shoulder before adding,"I don't mean to laugh at you, Jams."

"Liar." He stated as he shot her a playful glare. "You love laughing at me."

"And you love having me around." She pointed out. "I keep you grounded- without me around, you would have a huge ego and think you're greater than you really are."

"You don't think I'm that great?" He questioned as he feigned shock.

"Nah." She joked as she wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She grew serious as she leaned toward him, resting a hand on the back of his neck,"I don't think you're just great, because I think you're better than great." She slowly ran her fingers through his hair,"They broke the mold when they made you, Jamie Reagan."

"Good save, Nol." He teased before he leaned closer to her to give her a tender kiss. He pulled back and nodded toward his building as he said,"Come on, let's get this over with and get back to your place." Even though he knew it wouldn't take long, he didn't feel comfortable leaving her in the car to wait for him.

"Can you carry me?" She questioned as she flashed him a pout. "I already took off my heels and I really don't feel like putting those suckers back on."

"Translation- you're lazy." He joked.

"Basically." She said back with a laugh.

He shook his head, a chuckle escaping his lips as he exited the car and went around to her side. Minutes later, with her on his back and a duffel bag in his hand, he was standing in front of his apartment door.

The two were laughing and joking as he unlocked the door then walked inside, but as soon as they walked into the apartment something felt off, neither one could explain the feeling, but it was one she felt numerous of times after Jimmie had been in her place.

She nervously whispered out his name, but he quietly shushed her as he slowly lowered her from his back. He turned his head to look at her, telling her to stay put as he reached into the bag to grab his gun, then slowly lowered the bag to the floor.

She laid her hands on his back as she whispered,"Check the kitchen and the bathroom... that's usually where he starts first."

"Okay." Jamie whispered back. He turned his head to look at her from over his shoulder,"Stay here and yell if anything happens. I mean it, Nol, I want you to scream, okay?"

Noelle nodded her head, then pulled in a shaky breath as she watched him slowly walk toward the open kitchen. She knew she was supposed to stay where she was, but she couldn't stop herself from taking a few steps toward the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen.

She watched him glance around the small kitchen- truthful, he didn't really know what he was looking for. He opened the small supply closet by the refrigerator, it was big enough for someone to hide in, but thankfully there was nothing but a broom, mop and cleaning supplies inside.

She laid her hands on the countertop and leaned forward to get a better look inside. She nervously tapped her fingers as she whispered,"Check the cabinets."

Jamie turned his head, seeing her standing there and nodded his head, before he did what she said. He still didn't know what he was hoping to find, but he opened door after door, then turned his head to look at her for confirmation that everything was okay.

Once the kitchen was completely checked, he walked over toward her, then nodded toward the small hall across the room, before asking,"Bathroom next?"

She gave him a nod, but when he went to take a step, she quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her as she whispered,"Wait, wait, just wait a minute."

Seeing the terror on her face, he placed his hands on either side of her face, then matching her tone, said,"Shh, it's okay. Look at me, baby, look at me..." Once she raised her eyes to stare into his, he added,"It's going to be okay. I doubt he is even still here... he just wants to scare you-"

"Well he's doing a pretty damn good job." She hissed.

He gave her a tender kiss on the forehead, then whispered for her to stay behind him before he began to walk across the room to get to the bathroom. He had a feeling it wouldn't do any good to tell her to stay put again, but at least with her behind him he could protect her.

As the two made their way down the hallway, he felt her reaching out ever so often to grip the back of his shirt, causing him to pause for a moment, knowing she just needed a minute. Once they made it to the room, he turned his head to look at her from over his shoulder then nodded to the side, asking her to wait over there while he went into the room to check things out.

Just like before in the kitchen, he didn't really know what he was looking for, but he didn't need to ask her this time, because as soon as he stepped into the room he saw what he was supposed to.

His eyes widen slightly when he saw the short two word message wrote across the mirror, a message he knew was for him- it simply said; She's Mine.

•••

 _A/N; So I think it is safe to say that Jimmie knows about Jamie :/_

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Big thanks to BLBLF, Guest, werks, Guest, traceyaudette, Daniel Reagan, BlueBloods82, mcgeeksgirl, lilnightmare17, jlmayer, Eddie Reagan, Guest- Anica, CourtneyD4494, Love. Fiction. 2016 and Guest for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	17. Say What You Wanna Say

**17; Say What You Wanna Say**

Jamie stood in front of the mirror, feeling like he couldn't move as his heart pounded in his chest- the two words wrote in red lipstick was seared in his brain. He knew he should probably be scared and afraid- just the way Jimmie wanted him to be, but instead he was angry.

He was livid that Jimmie broke into his apartment and tried to intimidate him, and he hated that he was trying to claim Noelle as his own. She would never belong to Jimmie, he would make sure of that.

Hearing a gasp from the doorway, he jerked his head to the side and saw Noelle standing there with wide eyes when they landed on the mirror. He quickly stepped in her line of sight to block the view and led her back out into the hall. Seeing that she was frozen in shock, he laid his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him.

"Hey, hey, look at me. Baby, look at me." He said, desperate to get her attention. When she finally cut her eyes at him, he nodded his head,"That's good, that's good, just look at me, okay? And don't think about it, don't let it get to you... that's what he wants. He wants to frighten you, he wants to terrorize you-"

"He was here." She whispered, cutting him off. Tears filled her eyes as she added,"He was here, Jamie. That means he knows about you... about-about us-"

"Shh, it's okay." He interrupted her. He brushed a few tears from her cheek, then held her face in his hands as he added,"He can't touch us, okay? I'm not going anywhere, Nol. He's not going to scare me away." He kissed her forehead, keeping his lips pressed against her skin as he muttered,"I'm right here, baby."

Nodding her head at his words, she wanted to believe them, but she couldn't stop worrying about what Jimmie was going to do next. What if the next time he broke in he did something worse? What if he caught Jamie off-guard and hurt him?

As those fears hit her, she felt a chill down her spine and buried her face in his shirt. She laid her hands on his side, gripping his shirt as he folded her arms around her and held her tight. She wasn't sure how long they stood like that until she felt him kiss the top of her head before pulling back and slipping his cell phone out of his back pants pocket.

"What are you doing?" Noelle questioned.

"Calling Danny." Jamie answered as he unlocked the phone and began to scroll through his contacts for his brother's number.

"Jamie-"

"We have to call this in, Nol." He cut her off. "I know why you are hesitant, I really do, and I understand all of your fears, but we can't put it off any longer, we have to tell him. Danny needs to know."

"Okay." She softly said after a few minutes of silence. Deep down she knew he was right- it's not like she was trying to be stubborn, she just still had that little bit of fear of being turned away or looked at like she was crazy the way it was before.

Noelle went to take a step back as he clicked on his brother's name and placed the phone against his ear, but he pulled her back to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kept her pressed against him as he quietly spoke to Danny. He asked him to come by with another officer, but asked him to keep it off of the radio. His brother wanted to know what the hell was going on, but Jamie told him he would explain more when he got there.

After ending the call, Jamie pocketed the phone, then kept an arm around her as he led her into the living room to get her far away from the bathroom and the message on the mirror. He walked her over to the couch where she sank down onto it in a daze. He sat down beside her and kept an arm around her shoulders to hold her close while they waited for Danny to arrive.

He didn't really have to ask what she was thinking, he knew how freaked out she was. It seemed pretty clear that Jimmie was out and he was in their city terrorizing her. In his opinion this was a huge mistake on many levels, but mostly because she wasn't alone this time.

In Florida he could get to her because she had no one watching her, but here- she was surrounded by people who cared and would protect her. He had no doubt he would be caught, it was just a matter of when.

Hearing a knock at the door a few minutes later, he gave her forehead a tender kiss then stood up from the couch and walked over to the door to let Danny, Jackie and another officer in. He greeted them, then nodded toward Noelle asking Jackie to talk to her, while he showed Danny and the other man where to go.

As they went into the bathroom, he stood out in the hall to wait. He knew exactly when his brother saw the message when he heard a swear word slip out of his mouth.

While the bathroom was being fingerprinted and pictures being taken by the other officer, Danny stepped out into the hall and looked at his brother for a moment, then turned his head to see his partner sitting beside a badly shaken up Noelle on the couch. He turned back to look at Jamie; who looked anything but rattled by this- he only looked angry.

"I take it this is what you two wanted to talk to me about earlier?" Danny questioned.

"Yeah." Jamie mumbled with a nod of his head.

"So start talking."

Jamie turned his head to look at Noelle, the anger slipping away for a moment and was placed with concern for her.

"You need to talk to Nol."

"Later, but right now, I'm talking to you." Danny said, the tone of his voice grabbing Jamie's attention.

"It's not my story to tell... it's hers." Jamie explained. As much as he wanted Danny to know everything, he wouldn't betray her like that. It was up to her to share what parts she wanted to with whoever.

"What are you talking about her story- your story?" Danny questioned. "Someone broke into your apartment and left you a nice little message; I say that brings you into the story... now tell me the story."

Jamie blew out a breath, knowing he had to tell him something. He decided to go with the bare facts. "There's this guy obsessed with Nol."

"So you know who did this?" Danny asked surprised. If they knew who it was, why haven't they said anything sooner so the person could be arrested. He was starting to have a bad feeling there was a lot more to the story and at the end of it he was not going to be happy.

"We think so, but we don't know for sure because he's suppose to be locked up and we don't even know if he is really here or not- even though it's really starting to look like he is..." Jamie began to say until his voice trailed off.

"It's complicated." He finished with a sigh.

"Well let's talk to the storyteller and uncomplicate it." Danny suggested as he nodded his head toward Noelle.

Jamie nodded his head then began to walk over to her with Danny following along behind him while removing a pair of dark-colored gloves from his hands.

Seeing them approach, Jackie stood up from the couch to stand beside her partner. She had tried to comfort Noelle while the brothers were gone, which basically consists of her trying to distract her with talking about random things; she even told a few funny Danny stories which got a small chuckle from Noelle.

As Jamie sat beside Noelle on the couch, Danny looked down at the couple and blew out a breath as he reminded himself not to make this personal. He couldn't think about this as someone messing with his brother and the girl he viewed as a little sister, he had to view them as any other person he dealt with on a case.

"Jamie says you two have an idea on who did this." He spoke up, getting her attention. "But that's basically all he said... well, that and I should get the full story from you."

Noelle gave him a short nod, then turned her head to look at Jamie for a minute. He gave her a small smile, before grabbing her hand, letting her know he was there. She squeezed his hand to thank him, then blew out a breath before turning to look at Danny.

"His name is Jimmie Jenkins." She softly said.

"Okay, and who is this Jimmie Jenkins?" Danny asked while Jackie took out a small notebook and wrote the name down. "I'm going to guess this isn't the first time he's done something like this?"

"No, it's not the first time." Noelle said. She nervously bit her bottom lip for a moment, before admitting,"It started in Florida."

Danny glanced over at his brother for a minute, remembering earlier when he said that the man was obsessed with her, he was starting to think that was a understatement. Turning his attention back to her, he questioned,"This guy followed you from Florida?"

She nodded her head, then said,"If it is him- which I'm pretty sure it is. He's suppose to be in a mental institution though."

"What's wrong with him?" Jackie asked when Danny froze up. He was starting to getting more of an idea of what was going on and he didn't like what he was hearing.

"He has erotomania and several other disorders." Noelle answered. "He was convinced we were in a relationship and we're going to be together forever."

Danny turned his head away from them and blew out a breath to calm himself down. He had heard of erotomania before; years ago he had a case dealing with it and he knew how badly it could get. He needed to get hands on this man before things escalated.

Feeling a little more in control, he turned back to look at the couple. "You said he was locked up- so what did he do? How far did he take it back in Florida?"

This was the part Noelle was dreading- the part where she would have to tell her story. She lowered her head and felt her heart pounding in her chest. She reminded herself that she was safe, that she was with people who cared and she wasn't in that house anymore, but nothing worked as she felt her body shake in fear and her breathing quicken.

After seeing her fall apart in front of them, Jackie glanced at her partner for a moment, then looked back at the couple as she closed the notebook and slipping it back in her pocket before suggesting,"Noelle, why don't we take a walk outside? Get a little fresh air."

"No, it's okay. I uh, I need to do this." She said, flashing her a small smile of thanks. She pulled in a breath, then blew it out before adding."I just need a minute."

"I'll go check on things back there." Jackie offered as she jutted her thumb toward the bathroom, thinking maybe Noelle would feel more comfortable talking to Danny and Jamie.

Danny stepped closer to the couch and sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. He forgot his earlier thoughts about not taking this personal when a pained look appeared on her face before she bowed her head. He softly said her name, waiting for her to raise her head, before saying,"Whatever happened, it's over... it's in the past. He can't hurt you anymore."

"But he can." She argued as tears filled her eyes. She pointed to the side of her head, before adding,"He's always in here. I can't escape him."

"Hey..." Jamie quietly said as he turned toward her. He lightly grabbed her chin and turned her face toward him,"But you did escape him, Nol. You already survived him once, and I promise you, I'm not going to let him near you again, and I know Danny won't either."

Even though he didn't know the whole story yet, Danny still nodded his head, agreeing with his statement. Whatever was going on, he would protect her just like he would any of his siblings. She wasn't a Reagan by blood, but he always viewed her as family.

"Noelle..." Danny said, matching his brother's tone. When she turned her head to look at the older Reagan, he added,"How bad did it get?"

"Very." She whispered as her vision blurred with tears. "He-He started harassing me... well terrorizing me. He would send me things, call me all hours of the night and even broke into my apartment several times. And then he uh, he..."

As her voice went out, she turned her head to look at Jamie, her eyes pleading with him to finish it for her- she wasn't strong enough to do it herself. He knew this was hard for her, but he also knew she was strong enough. Which was why he turned her down even though it pained him to do it. He knew in the end it was for the best for her.

Pulling her toward him, he rested his forehead near her ear as he whispered out,"You can do this, Nol. I'm right here."

"Little Bit..." Danny said, referring to her by the childhood nickname he gave her, hoping it would bring her comfort. "You can tell me what happened... Jamie's right, we won't let him anywhere near you. This is a safe place, you understand what I'm saying?"

When she gave him a nod, he addressed both of them as he added,"You remember when you two were, six or seven, and came home upset because that older kid down the block stole your skateboard?"

"You mean the boy who Nol ended up jerking the skateboard away from, then hitting him in the face with it- breaking his nose after you told us we needed to stand up to the bully?" Jamie questioned his brother with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, that one." He pointed to Noelle, then added,"And to be fair, I never told you to hit him, I just said you can't live in fear or let people push you around. I never said hit the boy with a skateboard, you did that all on your own." Getting back to the subject at hand, he continued,"But, that lesson applies here too."

"You want her to hit Jimmie with a skateboard?" Jamie questioned, hoping his joke would help break the tense. He couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face when he heard a soft chuckle escape her lips.

Danny shot his brother a bored look, before saying,"No, that's not what I meant. I just mean, whatever happened, you can't let it define your life, you can't live in fear and let it take over or... you're not really living."

"It's a little more complicated than that-"

"No, he's right. I can't keep living in fear." Noelle said, interrupting Jamie. She gave his hand a squeeze to thank him, knowing he was trying to support her any way possible. Turning to look at Jamie, she added,"And you're right too. I did escape him and I can't keep living my life like he still has me chained up."

"Whoa, wait a minute, chained up? Chained up? He had you chained up?" Danny questioned in shock. "What exactly happened to you in Florida?"

Noelle turned her head back to look at him, then nervously cleared her throat as she pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them before telling him what happened. She didn't go in as much detail as she did with Jamie, she stayed with the basics; he abducted her, kept her captive for over a week and how hard she tried to escape- which resulted in her being stabbed.

"He stabbed you? You were stabbed and you never thought to call any of us?" Danny asked with a bit of an angry tone, causing Jamie to nod his head; he had the same thoughts when he first heard what happened. He couldn't deny that he was still disappointed that she didn't call or tell him sooner, but he understood her reasons.

"You all were still recovering after losing Joe, I didn't want to add more to it." She explained. "Plus as dumb as it sounds- I dunno, I guess I thought if I didn't talk about it or think about it; I could pretend it never happened. That obviously didn't work."

"You're talking about it now and that's all that matters." Jamie said, pulling her toward him. As she melted into his side, he added,"And we're going to find him and send him back where he belongs. He's not getting that close to you again."

Danny nodded his head in agreement, then needing more information, asked,"You said earlier that he use to break into your apartment... did he do this? Leave messages and such?"

"He didn't leave messages with words, but he made sure I knew he was there." She explained. "He would organize cans in the kitchen, he'll organize thing in the bathroom too; toiletries and towels in order by color-"

"Wait a minute." Jamie cut her off as he sat up so quick it caused her to fall back against the couch. He shot her an apology, then added,"You said he would organize towels by color? That was a thing he did, not you?"

"Yeah, I don't do that. If anything, I try to keep it as unorganized as possible because of that now." She answered. Seeing the distraught look on his face, she began to worry as she added,"Why? Have you noticed that here at your apartment?"

"No, at yours." He answered.

"What? When?" Danny asked as she went silent and her eyes slightly widen in fear. She had a feeling he had started breaking into her apartment, but there was the small hope that she was just being paranoid- she couldn't deny it now.

Even though his brother had asked the question, Jamie turned his attention to Noelle,"The night that we... The night I came by after Sydney called things off and I crashed at your place..."

He cleared his throat, realizing he almost slipped about the night they kissed. It's not that he regretted it or wanted to keep it secret, but he didn't know if she wanted him broadcasting to everyone what happened between them when they haven't really talked about what they were yet.

Jamie shook his head, from the look Danny was giving him, he had a feeling he was already putting two and two together. Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, he pointed out,"I slept on the couch."

"Hey, I didn't ask." Danny stated as he held up his hands.

Getting back to the story, he continued,"The next morning when I got up, I went to the bathroom and I noticed the towels were organized by color." Looking over at Noelle, he said,"I just assumed you did that, so I messed it up to tease you, but I forgot to even mentioned it until now."

"I was hoping it was just my imagination... I really wanted to believe it wasn't true." Noelle quietly said as if in a daze, getting their attention.

"You were hoping what wasn't true?" Danny asked her.

Her eyes focused on the older Reagan in front of her, seeing Jamie staring at her from the corner of her eye. "There was one night, I had this nightmare and when I woke up, it felt like I wasn't alone and I could have sworn I heard a door click shut.

"I searched everywhere, but didn't see anyone; the only thing out of place was a snow globe." Turning to look at Jamie, she added,"The one you sent to me for my birthday... it was moved from the table by the couch to the one by the door."

"He's escalating fast." Jamie said, the thought worrying him more than he wanted to let on. He didn't want her to see how that frightened him- he wanted to be strong for her, he needed to be her rock. "Breaking into your apartment and now mine... plus the roses."

"Roses?" Danny questioned, getting excited. If he was leaving things, there was their proof. The excitement didn't last long though, when she reached into her bag and pulled out two different evidence bags with a red and orange rose inside.

She held the bags out to him. "I already ran test on them, there are no prints." Glancing over at Jamie, she added,"I wouldn't be surprised if there are no prints in your bathroom either."

As much as he hated it, he nodded his head in agreement. That seemed to be Jimmie's MO, sneak in to cause havoc, then slip away without being seen.

Noelle blew out a breath, feeling dejected as she said,"I know what all of this means; there isn't much that can be done without proof."

"Not legally, no." Danny said. He stood up from the coffee table before adding,"But I'm going to do everything I can on my end. I'll have eyes and ears out there looking for this creep and if he makes another move, I'll haul his ass in so fast he'll regret the day he ever laid eyes on you."

While pointing to Noelle, he spoke to his brother,"In the meantime, I don't want her alone- you need to become her shadow."

"That was already my plan." Jamie said, standing up from the couch. "That's why we came here- I was getting some clothes then was going to crash at her place until I found the message."

Danny nodded his head, glad to hear they were going to stick together. "And next time something happens... big or small, you two call me asap." He was a bit worried about how quickly everything were going, he had seen cases escalate like this before and they did not turn out well.

"We will." Jamie promised while Noelle nodded her head in agreement.

Before anyone else could say anything, Jackie and the other officer were finished with the bathroom. None of them were hopeful that Jimmie left his prints behind, but Danny promised he would put a rush on the test and let them know as soon as he did.

Jamie thanked everyone, then told Noelle he would be right back as he walked everyone out. He stopped his brother before he could walk out the door, both of them glanced over at Noelle; who was still sitting on the couch in a daze because of the night events.

Looking back at his brother, he quietly said,"We got to find this guy, Danny. The sooner, the better."

"Trust me, we will." Danny promised him. "First things first, we need to find out if he is out or not." That little tidbit will go a long way to prove he was in their city harassing her again.

Jamie nodded his head in agreement, then said,"She's been trying to get in touch with a detective friend of hers-"

"Detective Hayes?"

"Wait, you know him?" Jamie asked surprised. After his brother nodded his head, he scoffed,"Am I the only one who didn't know about this guy and Nol?"

Danny raised his eyebrows at his brother, an amused look on his face as he heard a hint of jealousy in his tone. He shook his head at him,"Calm down, kid. They're friends and I only talked to him once. Little Bit got me in touch with him to help out with a case."

Jamie nodded his head at his words, then pushed all of the negative thoughts aside. "Well anyways, he hasn't called her back or anything... she seems pretty worried about it."

"I'm sure it's nothing, but I'll reach out to him. See what he can tell me."

Turning to look at her again, Jamie blew out a breath, then said,"I can't stop thinking about how close I came to losing her-"

"But you didn't." Danny interrupted him as he laid a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. "Don't forget that girl is a firecracker and she's strong as hell."

"Yeah, I know, but that's just it... this whole Jimmie thing has changed her." Jamie explained. "Which is understandable after what she went through, but I'm worried what it's going to do to her emotional with him being back.

"You remember how she was growing up... she would never show fear, but this guy is like every one of her bad dreams and fears all wrapped up in one." With his eyes on her, he softly said,"Every time I see her eyes widen or see her jump at something, I want to take that fear away, but I don't know how."

"What did you do before?" When his brother looked at him in confusion, he added,"Growing up, what did you do when you knew she was scared?"

"I was there for her, I'll hold her hand."

"Then that's what you do now." Danny stated. He raised his eyebrows before joking,"And whatever else you two do in private that keeps her relaxed and distracted."

"It's not like that." Jamie chuckled. "You know how important she is to me."

"Hey, I'm not judging." Danny said as he raised his hands. "Whatever you two are, I say it's about time. You two have been dancing around the issue and been half in love with each other for years." He slipped a pair of warm gloves on, then said,"My only complaint is, I wish you two would have made a move a few years ago, then I would have won the bet."

Jamie laughed at his comment, then realized what he said. "Wait, you all were betting on us getting together?"

Danny nodded his head,"Pretty much ever since you walked into the house with this tiny mess of a girl who was all bangs and sass, and you announced to us all that this was your new best friend." He chuckled at the memory, then said,"We all knew it then, kid."

Jamie smiled at his comment, he knew exactly what moment he was talking about. Her father and his father had worked in the same precinct and when a house went up for sale in their neighborhood, Frank told Byron about it and the other man put in an offer right away.

The day the Kelley family moved in, he was first introduced to Noelle and the two hit it off right away. Their parents couldn't help but laugh as they watched the two run around the yard chasing each other. It was only a day or so later that he led her into his house and informed his family that she was his new best friend for life and they were going to see a lot of her.

He couldn't help but laugh at how true that statement was. From that day forward the two were inseparable and she was over at his house several times a week. She had always loved the Reagan house; she said it made her feel safe and loved, and was always so full of laughter and happiness.

It's not that her home life was bad; her parents were loving and doted on her, but then she also got overlooked at times because of all the problems with her older brother. She never knew from one day to the next if things would be okay or if she would walk into a huge argument. There were times she felt like she had to walk on eggshells but it was never like that at the Reagans- there she could be herself with no fears of making things worse in an already tense situation.

When everyone left, Jamie shut the door and began to walk over to Noelle on the couch. He knew she had a lot on her mind and was terrified after everything she had been through, but he was going to do what he always did when she was scared- he was going to be right by her side.

Sitting down beside her, he held out his hand with his palm up, then turned his head to look at her. She gave him a small smile before she laid the palm of her hand against his. She felt him intertwine their fingers as she laid her head on his shoulder and he pressed his lips against the side of her head.

He made a silent promise to himself that he would protect her no matter what he had to do, because he was not going to lose her. Just like years ago when he made a vow that she was his best friend for life and everyone was going to be seeing a lot more of her, he was going to keep this promise no matter what.

•••

Next day, Noelle and Jamie laid in bed for as long as they could until they had to get up to go to their old neighborhood. She was going to her parent's house first to talk to her father about Jimmie before he heard about it from some old cop buddies, then she was meeting up with Jamie at the Reagan house. He had offered to go with her, but she told him this was something she needed to do herself.

Walking into his childhood home, he gave everyone a wave when they called out a greeting to him. Usually he would walk into the living room and jump into whatever conversation was going on, but today he had too much on his mind and he was exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before.

He mostly spent the night listening for anything unusual and holding her as she tried to sleep, but her sleep was restless and she had nightmares back to back.

Needing a pick-me-up, he shuffled into the kitchen for coffee and saw his sister peeking in on the meat in the oven. Hearing someone enter the room, she turned her head and shut the oven door, then called out a friendly greeting to her younger brother.

"Hey." Jamie said back. "What are you making?"

"Osso buco." Erin answered.

"Smells good." He said, pouring some coffee grounds in the coffee pot to start brewing. "No one is going to know what that is, but it still smells good."

His sister laughed at his joke, sadly he was probably right. She glanced around for a minute, then asked,"Where's Noelle? I thought she was coming?"

"She is. She's visiting with her folks first and will come here afterwards."

"Oh."

The two were quiet for a moment until the coffee was finished and she watched him make a cup then took a sip. Seeing how exhausted he was, she tilted her head to the side as she asked,"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just didn't get much sleep last night." He answered before taking another sip.

"Is everything okay with you and Noelle?" She questioned, trying to get to the bottom of what was bothering him.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's great." He said with a genuine smile. He couldn't really tell her what was going on yet, but he could at least get her help with another problem. He nervously cleared his throat, then said,"But, actually, there is one thing I was hoping to get your advice on."

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Well, as you know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I asked Nol out-"

"Aw." Erin cooed, cutting him off. As he lowered his head and let out a chuckle, she placed her hands over her mouth for a moment before lowering them and saying,"I'm sorry. I'm just really happy for you two, but please, continue."

"Basically the problem is... now I don't know what to do for tomorrow." He admitted.

"Well, how do you feel about her?" She asked. When he shot her a look, she let out a laugh, then said,"Right, I already know the answer to that question."

"Yeah, Danny says you all knew something was there between us from the beginning."

"Mm-hm." She nodded. "We've all been betting for years and I had a feeling it would happen soon after she moved back. I was only off by a few weeks."

Jamie laughed at her joke, although he had a feeling it wasn't a joke. Blowing out a breath, he sat the cup down and leaned back against the counter. "So what should I do?"

"I think the better question is... what do you want to do?"

"I want to show her how much she means to me." He admitted. "I mean, we use to spend a lot of Valentine's Days together. We would eat candy and watch movies, but that was just as friends, so I want to do more than that this time since we're... whatever we are."

"And what are you two exactly?" She questioned as she rested her hand on her chin, trying to appear nonchalant. She was really curious on what was going on between them. She knew they went out on a date recently and they've been hanging out a lot, but she didn't know if that meant they were together or still just friends.

"Very subtle, sis." He chuckled. He shook his head, then blew out a breath before adding,"But the truth is, I don't know what we are. We haven't talked about it yet."

"Maybe tomorrow can be your chance to show her what you want."

"So you think I should go all out?"

She nodded. "I do. Show her what she means to you and really go big if that's what you are feeling."

With a smile, she added,"Let me tell you something about us girls... we love when men tell us exactly what they are feeling and despite what you might think, we are not mind readers.

"So if you want to commit to her, tell her and then tell her again. Never leave her guessing or doubting your feelings for her. Just remember; actions are good, but words are better."

"Okay. Okay, good, thanks." He said, flashing her a smile. "Then it's settled. That's what I'll do."

"What's settled? What are you gonna do?" Danny questioned as he walked into the kitchen, catching the end of his brother's comment.

Erin glanced over at her other brother, a smile on her lips,"Jamie's planning a romantic date for Noelle tomorrow."

Danny nodded his head at the idea before asking,"So does that mean you two are officially together?"

"Well, not exactly." Jamie answered.

"They haven't had the talk yet." Erin added for him.

"Right, we haven't had the talk." He repeated.

"So he's going to do something romantic and tell her how he feels." She continued.

Danny made a face and pulled in a sharp breath. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah." Jamie said while Erin nodded her head in agreement. He looked at his sister, seeing how sure she was about this, then looked back at Danny, seeing that he didn't agree, which left him confused all over again.

With a shake of his head, he added,"Or no? I don't know."

"Now look what you did." Erin said, looking at Danny. "You've confused him."

"I'm not trying to!" Danny exclaimed as he threw out his arms. "I'm just trying to help the kid out."

"Well you're not helping because now I don't know what to do again." Jamie pointed out.

"Go casual." Danny suggested.

"No, don't listen to him." Erin argued. "Be romantic, Jamie."

"Trust me, casual is the way to go." Danny said, disagreeing with his sister. "Look, all I know is, years ago I took a girl out once and I thought we were on the same page, but then I realized I jumped the gun and we never recovered from it. It's the Valentine's Day curse."

Erin scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest. "There is no such thing as a Valentine's Day curse."

"Didn't Jack propose to you on Valentine's Day?" Danny asked, even though he already knew the answer. When his sister didn't answer, he turned to look at his younger brother with raised eyebrows,"And there's your answer."

"So I should just go low-key and have the talk later?" Jamie questioned.

"Yes." Danny said, at the same time his sister said,"No."

"You two are not helping!" Jamie said, throwing up his hands in frustration.

As his siblings began to talk over each other, he heard the other members of his family calling out a greeting to Noelle as she arrived at the house. After telling everyone hey and being pointed toward the kitchen to find Jamie, he quickly shushed his siblings so she wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"Hey!" Noelle called out as she entered the room, hearing several hellos from the Reagan siblings. She went around the room, giving them all hugs. She held on to Jamie a little longer, which was something she needed after the visit at her parent's house.

"So what did I miss?" Noelle questioned as she leaned back against the counter beside Jamie. She looked at each sibling, before adding,"What were you talking about?"

The three began to talk at once, each throwing out a different topic to try to cover up what they were really talking about. Noelle looked at each one again, her eyebrows lowered in confusion as she tried to follow three different conversations.

When Jamie saw her open her mouth to question what was going on, he quickly cut her off as he asked his sister if dinner was ready. Erin spun around to the oven and peeked inside, before announcing it was time to eat.

"Great, dinner's ready!" Danny called out to the whole household. He began to usher Noelle and Jamie toward the dining room where the rest of the family was beginning to walk into to sit down at the table.

"Wait, I need to take my coat off." Noelle said, coming to a stop and shrugging it off.

"Come on, I'll go with you." Jamie offered as he laid a hand on the small of her back and began to lead her past his family members into the living room, where everyone's coats were tossed onto the couch.

After sitting the pan of meat on the table, Erin grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him aside to question,"What's going on? Why are you talking him out of dating Noelle?"

"I'm not." Danny said. He glanced over at his wife for a moment, then looked back at his sister as he admitted,"I got a bet going on with Linda. If they wait until after Valentine's Day, I'll win."

Erin shook her head, a chuckle escaping her lips as she turned to go back into the kitchen to grab another plate of food for the table. Leave it to Danny to try to bend the rules to win.

"So what was that in there?" Noelle questioned Jamie now that they were alone.

"What? In there? Nothing." Jamie said nervously. He took the coat from her hand and tossed onto the couch with the others, then changing the subject asked,"How are you? How was it at your parents?"

She blew out a breath and wrapped her arms around herself,"It was as hard as I thought it was going to be. Just seeing the look on my dad's face as I told him what Jimmie did, it killed me." Shaking her head, a pained look on her face as she quietly admitted,"I never wanted him to know about this... I never wanted to see that look on his face."

"I'm sorry." He softly said, before wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her closer to him. As her arms went around his middle, he laid his other hand on the back of her head and rested his chin on top of her head.

With her face pressed against his chest, she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat, the sound relaxing her- something she desperately needed after talking to her father. She didn't give him all the gory details, but it was still an emotional talk. Afterwards the two agreed to not tell her mother about it, they thought that would be for the best.

After a few silent minutes, she let out a small chuckle, then pulled back to look at him. "I almost didn't get to leave from there. He basically wanted to lock me in my room until this was all over."

"I can understand that feeling." He nodded. "Trust me, I've been tempted to do it myself, but I know how stubborn you are and I know you'll fight me on it."

She nodded her head, then added,"And you know I'll kick your ass."

He let out a chuckle, before shaking his head and saying,"I know you'll try, but you can't really reach it."

She let out a gasp, her mouth dropping open in mock surprise. "A short joke? Really, Jams?" She laid her hands on his chest and playfully pushed him back as she called him a jerk.

He laughed at her antics, pleased that his plan to cheer her up worked. He lightly grabbed her arm, telling her to come here as he pulled her toward him, forgetting where he was for a moment he pressed his lips against hers for a tender kiss.

Getting lost in the moment, he laid his hands on either side of her face, giving her bottom lip a small nibble, before he began to move his lips against hers again. He had no intentions of stopping until the two heard someone clear their throat, causing them to quickly pull away and turn toward the dining room doorway, seeing his family standing there watching them- minus his grandfather who had already sat down and didn't wanna get back up.

Frank cleared his throat as he slipped his hands in his front pants pocket, before saying,"If you two are finished... we would like to sit down and eat as a family now."

"Oh, God." Noelle mumbled, her cheeks turning red as she buried her face in Jamie's shirt.

Jamie self-consciously wiped at his bottom lip as he lowered his head for a minute. He gave her back a small rub to comfort her, then looked back over at his family as he nervously said,"Let's eat then."

Erin looked over at Danny, a chuckle on her lips as she quietly said,"Looks like you're losing that bet."

"It's not over until it's over, sis." He said back with his trademark grin.

•••

Minutes later, the family was seated around the table quietly eating. Noelle took a bite of food, then glanced around nervously, wondering when the questions were going to start, but she shouldn't have been all that surprise that no one said anything yet. Most of the Reagan family were good in the art of interrogation, they would stay silent until you cracked and told on yourself.

As more minutes ticked by, Noelle couldn't stand it anymore and suddenly blurted out,"We were just kissing!"

She was aware of Jamie watching her from the corner of her eyes, as well as the other family members. She knew she should shut up, but she couldn't stop herself from further explaining,"Well, we're more than kissing... I mean, not that- but you know, dating. We're-We're dating, but I don't know..."

Seeing Jamie shaking his head, the look on his face pleading with her to stop talking, her voice trailed off. She turned to look at him, letting out an uncomfortable chuckle. Turning back to the others, she quietly said,"And I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Sorry."

"Well..." Frank began to say before he took a sip of his drink. He sat the glass down, then continued,"Whatever is going on between you two, I think I speak for everyone when I say, it's been a long time coming."

Henry held up his glass as he called out,"Hear! Hear!"

"We would say welcome to the family, but..." Danny began to say as he chewed his food. After he took a sip of his drink and swallowed, he joked,"You've been here for years... we can't get rid of you."

"Ha ha." Noelle said, sticking her tongue out at him while everyone at the table laughed at their antics.

"So does this mean you two are officially together?" Linda questioned as she side-eyed her husband, thinking of their bet.

"Well, uh, we're-"

"We're-We're taking it slow?" Jamie guessed when she stuttered for an answer.

"Right, slow." Noelle said, hoping her disappointment didn't show. Maybe it was smart to take it slow, but the truth was, she didn't want to. She felt like they had been taking it slow for years, but she couldn't force the issue; so if slow is what he wanted, then slow is what she would do.

Turning to look at him, she gave him a small smile and nod. "We're going slow."

"Okay, let's change the subject." Erin suggested, wanting to get the spotlight off of the uncomfortable couple- plus as happy as she was for them, talks of relationships were a sensitive subject for her because of her situation.

"Why?" Her daughter questioned, bringing up the one subject she didn't want to discuss,"I'm not upset about Dad's girlfriend. Are you?"

"No." Erin stated, hoping she sounded believable.

"He's taking her to Anguilla for Valentine's Day." Nicky announced to the whole table. Smiling at her mom, she added,"But Mom and I have a date, right, Mom?"

"That's right." Erin said, returning the smile. "Nicky wanted to have Peking Duck in the city, so, Peking Duck she will have."

"Uncle Jamie, where are you taking Noelle?" Nicky asked, looking over at her uncle, curious what romantic plans the couple has.

"Uh..."

"Let me guess..." Noelle said as his voice trailed off. "All ideas and no plans?"

"Something like that." He laughed. "But I'm working on something good." He added, hoping he sounded confident.

He saw Danny raise his eyebrows at him as he took a drink, as if to remind him not to go too big while his sister Erin just smiled at the couple. Their conflicting advice still had him a bit confused- he just hoped by the next day he had it figured out on which way to go.

"Valentine's Day. Ug!" Henry exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.

"Why?" Nicky questioned him.

"Because it's one of those holidays that is dreamed up by the greeting card companies." He explained, causing his son Frank to chuckle after taking a sip of his drink.

"What's a greeting card?" Jack, Danny's oldest son, asked.

"Mm." Linda muttered before swallowing her food, then explained to her son,"It's something people used to send before e-cards, honey."

"I'm making Mom a nice card in school, but it's a surprise." Sean announced to the table, causing everyone to laugh as his mother jokingly put a finger to her lips, as if to say his secret was safe.

"Is that another Reagan trait, Grandpa?" Nicky asked as she looked at Frank. "Do you think it's hooey?"

"Well, I thought it was great, but your Grandma Mary didn't like making a big deal out of it." He answered. "She always hated the idea of being required to express her love on a certain day."

"Well, that's Mom to a tee." Erin spoke up.

"Reagan women don't like to be told what to do." Frank said, smiling at his daughter.

"No, we don't." Erin said in agreement.

"Kelley women are the same way." Jamie joked as he turned his head to look at Noelle.

With a laugh, Noelle pointed her fork at him; a small piece of meat on the end of it. "And don't you forget it, Jams."

He playfully narrowed his eyes at her, then leaned forward to steal the meat off of her fork, causing her mouth to drop open in surprise before she slapped his shoulder. While he grabbed his glass to take a drink, she reached over to his plate and stabbed her fork into a piece of meat he had cut up for himself. She shoving it into her mouth and shot him a smug smile.

As everyone around the table laughed at their antics, she took a sip and swallowed the food, then getting back to the subject. "I've always loved Valentine's Day."

"That's 'cause you're a closeted romantic." Jamie announced, causing her to slap a hand over his mouth as she shushed him.

"That was a secret." She joked as she removed her hand.

A chuckle escaped her lips, when he said,"My bad."

She shook her head, then explained,"No, I think it's mostly because my dad would always go all out on that day for my mom. So, I just have all of these great memories attached to that day."

"Still, it's one of those days. You know, you're supposed to be hooked up, and it's a reminder if you're not." Jamie began to say, speaking from another point of view. He never felt lonely on that day, mostly thanks to the girl sitting next to him, but he knew there were some people who felt that way.

"You know, it's like a pressure point, like New Year's Eve." He continued.

"What do you mean by that... pressure point?" Danny questioned, his mind beginning to wander.

"I don't know. It's just one of those days when you're supposed to be happy, or you measure your happiness. Some people propose, other people are disappointed by their mates, or if they're alone, it exacerbates their loneliness."

"You know, you may be a genius, kid." Danny said, sitting his fork down and thinking about his case. He was pretty confident that he just solved it.

"Jamie, you know you shouldn't use big college words on your brother." Noelle joked, causing Danny to flash her a sarcastic smile at the comment.

"Exacerbate. Worsen." Jamie explained to him.

"No, no. The whole Valentine's Day, pressure point thing." Danny wiped his mouth off with a napkin then tossed it down on the table before standing up. "I'm gonna get back to work. Okay, Dad?"

"We just started eating here." Henry pointed out.

"I got to get back to work." Danny explained, wanting to go back to the parents of the kidnapped girl and see if his theory was correct. He was starting to think the girl faked her own kidnapping because she was upset with her divorced parents situation.

"Pork chops were great." He added, causing a round of laughter around the table.

"Pork chops." Erin repeated with a scoff. Leave it to her brother Danny to not know the difference between pork and lamb.

As everyone shout out parting words to Danny, Jamie glanced over at Noelle, seeing a smile on her face as she watched his family. He reached out to lay a hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze and grabbing her attention.

When she turned her head to look at him, he leaned over to give her cheek a quick peck, then resumed eating his food- keeping his hand on her knee during the whole meal.

•••

 _A/N; This chapter got away from me, but I love when she gets to interact with all the Reagans._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to BLBLF, werks, lilnightmare17, LungTienXiang, jlmayer, mcgeeksgirl, Daniel Reagan, Eddie Reagan, Guest, SCARLETCOIN2012, Guest- Anica and .2016 for reviewing. And also shout out to my bestie, Sage Londyn for getting caught up._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_

 _One more thing, to the guest reviewer complaining about the reviews on my story- I'm sorry if you don't like long, capped reviews, but last time I checked the reviews are for me, not you._

 _Also, next time, watch who you call a bitch, 'cause that's my best friend you were talking about. I normally don't respond to hate, but that comment was uncalled for._

 _The only other thing I will say is; if there is anything you don't like- rather that's me, my stories or my reviews- I got a simple solution for you... just ignored it, like I'm gonna ignore you.  
_


	18. A Step Forward

**18; A Step Forward**

Next day was a slow work day for Noelle- which she was thankful for since it gave her time to catch up on paperwork. She was halfway through the huge stack of files when she was called to a loft in Bushwick. From the moment she walked into the dilapidated apartment, it was clear to see what kind of lifestyle the young adults living there had. She wrinkled her nose as the scent of overflowing trash and dirty laundry hit her nose.

Hearing noises in one of the back rooms, she realized that must be where all the action was. She glanced over at her co-worker Will and nodded toward the noise to let him know where they should be heading. As soon as she stepped into the room, she saw Danny and Jackie turn their heads when they heard someone enter the room.

She walked over to them and gave them a greeting. Jackie gave one back before telling her partner she was going to look around for clues. Noelle took a step closer to the body, a young man- late teens if she had to guess. He was on the floor, slumped back against the wall with a gunshot wound in the forehead.

She told Danny her first impressions, which he wrote down, then while Will began to take pictures of the body, she stood up and took a couple of steps back to stand beside Danny.

"I take it this is your case." She said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah and it's just taken a turn for the worst." Danny sighed. "This was the boyfriend of the kidnapped victim. The two were faking it and apparently brought in a third person, which obviously didn't work out for them." He added as he gestured toward the dead body of Drew Leland.

"I'm sorry, Danny." She said sincerely. She could tell this turn in the case was hitting him hard and she felt bad for him, she also felt bad for the poor girl who was somewhere out there now with a murderer. She had no doubt Danny would find her though, which is what she told him.

"I hope you're right, Little Bit."

"So is this the case from the other day? The one that Baylor showed up for the ransom?" She questioned, earning a nod as a response.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I have a BOLO out for Baylor. When he pokes his head out of hiding, we'll know it." Danny said, hoping to reassure her. After she nodded her head to thank him, he looked over at her from the corner of his eye,"After last night, I understand that comment you made at the station a little more now."

"Which comment?" She questioned, playing dumb. She knew which comment he was talking about, it was the same one that set Jamie off too.

He didn't say anything as he turned his head toward her, giving her a look to let her know he wasn't falling for her act. "I know you're scared, but don't even think about disappearing on us, Little Bit. If you ever try, I will find you and I will drag your ass back here- after I kick it; do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I hear you." She nodded. "But don't worry, your brother has already chewed me out about it."

"Good. You should listen to the kid." He stated. "And you should listen to me when I say we're gonna catch the creep. I'm gonna do everything on my end, but I need you to trust me."

"I've always trusted you, Danny." She said honestly. "I trust all of you, this was never about trust... I just don't want to lose any of you."

Seeing his partner calling him over, he gave Jackie a nod, then looked back at Noelle. He gave her a quick kiss on the side of the head, before saying,"You couldn't if you tried, Little Bit."

She gave him a small smile before he walked over to Jackie- who informed him one of the roommates was there. While Danny went over to question him, Jackie walked back over to Noelle and her co-worker to see what was going on.

"Well, he's dead." Will said, stating the obvious. "And it looks like it hurt like a bitch too."

"You don't say?" Jackie said sarcastically.

Noelle chuckled at the comment, then nodded her head toward her co-working said,"Don't pay attention to him. He has a weird sense of humor."

"I should probably be offended by that, but actually I'm honored that you noticed that." Will joked with her. He jutted his thumb toward an exit, before telling her he forgot something from the van and he'll be back in a few.

"Did Danny tell you we got the test back from last night?" Jackie asked her once the two were alone. As Noelle shook her head, she continued,"You were right, he left no prints behind. We also tested the lipstick he used to write the message and the only prints on there were yours."

Noelle wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as she realized he had stolen the lipstick from her apartment, then used it to leave Jamie a message to try to scare him away. The message seemed to have an opposite effect though, it made him want to stick to her like glue.

She was grateful for that, she always loved spending time with Jamie, but she still couldn't help but worry what Jimmie might do next.

"I can't imagine how difficult this is for you, but we are doing all we can to stop this guy." Jackie said.

"I know." Noelle said, giving her a genuine smile.

"I know it's hard, but just try not to stress yourself out over this. I know you're scared and have every reason to be, but you are well protected so you can relax. You can start living your life again." Jackie said, hoping to put her mind at ease. Flashing her a smile, she added,"For example, today is Valentine's Day, and from the looks of you and Jamie last night, I think it's safe to say you two probably have big plans tonight."

"Yeah." Noelle breathed out. She couldn't keep a grin from her face as she added,"He says he has something planned tonight, but he won't tell me anything, which drives me crazy and he knows it. He knows I hate surprises."

"I'm right there with you, girl. I hate surprises too." Jackie said, making a face. "I had this guy tell me one time he had a big surprise for me and told me to pack a bag. I thought I was gonna get this great vacation out of him, but instead he took me upstate to meet his family, then later gave me his grandmother's ring as a promise that we would get married one day."

"That's kinda sweet."

"It was our third date."

"Oh, never mind." Noelle said, wrinkling her nose. "That's not sweet at all, that is straight up weird."

"Right, that's what I thought." Jackie said in agreement. "Although compared to my ex-husband maybe I should have married him."

Noelle laughed at her joke, then said,"Well, on the bright side, at least I don't have to worry about that with Jamie since I already know the whole Reagan gang." She let out a laugh, then added,"Probably a little too well."

"Hey, who knows, maybe he'll want to bring back that 'playing doctor' thing you two use to do as kids." Jackie teased as she flashed her a wink.

Noelle laughed at her comment, remembering Danny bringing that up the night she first met Jackie. The two women were laughing, when Danny walked back over to them to tell his partner they might have a lead on the shooter- a guy named Taze. According to the roommate, he's a graffiti artist that Drew buys pot from sometimes.

"What's so funny?" He questioned, coming to a stop in front of the girls.

"I was telling Noelle about one of my disastrous date."

"Was it on Valentine's Day?" Danny asked her.

Jackie thought about it, then said,"Actually, it was."

"Valentine's Day curse strikes again."

"You really think there's such a thing as a Valentine's Day curse?" Noelle questioned him.

"I know there is. You should be careful tonight, Little Bit." He warned as he thought about the bet he had going on with his wife. If they just wait one more day, then he'll win.

At his comment, she lowered her eyebrows, wondering what he meant by that, but before she could ask Jackie asked him what he found out from the roommate. He was in the middle of filling her in, when she got a phone call- the parents of the kidnapped girl had received an email demanding money.

After Jackie told Danny about the phone call, he nodded his head, knowing they needed to leave, but before he did anything, he turned to look at Noelle and opened his mouth.

"I know. As soon as I'm done with the autopsy, I'll call you." She cut him off before he could say a word.

"No, that's not what I was going to say." Danny said with a shake of his head. "I was going to tell you not to worry, but to be cautious. And if anything happens, call me asap, you hear me?"

"I will." She promised.

"I'll see you later, Little Bit." Danny called out as he gave her head a quick pat before he and Jackie left the room.

Alone in the room, Noelle took a few steps toward the body, then squatted down beside him. A sad look appeared on her face as she looked him over and couldn't help but wonder how he got there. He was young and should have had his whole life ahead of him, but here he sat with a bullet in his brain.

It was a thought she had often anytime she showed up on a scene, she wondered what choices they made that led them down a path that unfortunately resulted in their death.

Were they not loved enough? Did they grow up with too strict parents and was just trying to rebel? Were they in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Were they just trying to do a nice thing, then learned the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished- something she was very familiar with.

Whatever the reason, she always did all she could to find out what happened in their final moments. She would do all that she could to tell the stories they couldn't tell anymore, she would not let their voices fade away and be ignored. She would not let them be silenced even in death.

•••

Later that evening, Jamie had texted her to tell her he would meet her at her apartment, then they could start their Valentine's date. He lied and told her he was running late because of work, which he felt bad for doing, because the truth was since his tour ended he had been at her apartment going back and forth on what to do- casual or romantic? He could swear he could hear both of his siblings going back and forth in his head.

He had grabbed some take-out, their usual from Cathalina's, one of their favorite places that they had frequent often in the past. He sat a few bags down on the counter in the kitchen, then glanced over at the small table she had in the corner of the room, then he walked over toward the doorway leading into the living room as he debated on where they should eat.

His original idea was to set the table and have a romantic dinner by candlelight, but now he was worried that was too much. He knew he didn't want to go too casual and eat on the couch though.

His eyes dropped down to the floor, then it hit him, they could have a picnic on the living room floor. In his opinion that was in between romantic and casual; it said he wanted to be more than friends, but wasn't pressuring her with labels of what they were.

He spent the next few minutes laying out a colorful blanket on the floor for them to sit on- one he found in her linen closet, where he also made sure nothing was colored coded and was pleased to see it wasn't.

He grabbed several throw pillows she had lying around and tossed them on the floor to make it more comfortable, then he began to set out the food and grabbed utensils. He opened the bottle of wine he brought, then laid several daisies out on the middle of the blanket before standing up to look everything over.

As much as he liked the way everything looked, he couldn't help but think adding candles would be a good idea. He argued with himself if that would be too much or just enough, finally he shook his head and said screw it as he went back into the kitchen to grab the candles he had bought earlier. He set several out all around the room, then lite them and took a step back, seeing the flames flickering and illuminating the room with a soft glow.

Nodding his head, he glanced around the room, feeling like it was perfect now; which was good timing when he suddenly heard a key at the door. Not wanting to scare her when she walked in, he made his way over to the door, then called out her name, letting her know he was in there.

He told her to hold on as he reached out to click all the locks, then opened the door for her. She smiled when she was him standing there in a pair of light gray slacks and a black sweater. She opened her mouth to speak, but when she saw all the candles, her voice trailed off in surprise.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Nol." Jamie said, flashing her a smile. Seeing the look on her face gave him a boost of confidence that he was headed in the right direction with his plan. He reached back to grab the last flower he brought with him from his pocket, then took a step toward her as he placed it behind her ear.

As her mouth hung open, but no words came out, he let out a chuckle and lightly caressed the side of her face, before saying,"I hope this silence means you're happy."

"I-I am." Noelle breathed out. "I'm just-I'm speechless."

"Wow, I don't think that has ever happened." Jamie joked as he took her bag from her hand and sat it down by the door, while she slipped her high heels off. He helped her take her coat off, then grabbed her hand to lead her further into the room.

As he shut and locked the door, she looked over at the blanket he had set out for them, a smile on her lips when she saw all the daisies he had sitting out. When her eyes landed on the food, she softly gasped, then turned to him.

"Is that alfredo from Cathalina's?"

"Out of everything on the blanket, why am I not surprised that your eyes go right for the food?" He joked.

She laughed at his comment, then playfully slapped his stomach. "I noticed everything else too. Especially the flowers." She smiled up at him as she reached up to touch the flower behind her ear. "Thank you for these, by the way."

When the two sat down on the blanket, he saw her look down at the flowers, her smile fading some, causing him to ask her what was wrong- for a moment he had worried he'd messed something up.

"As much as I love daisies... they also make me think of the daisies your mom use to grow every year." She answered with a sad smile. The other woman was like a second mother to her, and she missed her dearly every day.

"You know she use to do that for you, right?" He stated. By the surprised look on her face, he realized she didn't know that. He let out a chuckle, then said,"After that first year, when she saw how much you loved them, she kept adding more and more every year for you."

"Really? I never knew that." She said as her eyes began to water. She let out a breathy laugh and reached up to wipe the tears away. "You know, I bet she would have acted like the others yesterday at dinner. I bet she would be happy with what's going on between us."

Jamie nodded his head,"She probably would have been betting along with the others too. She always loved you like you were her own, Nol."

Noelle smiled at his words, then realizing what he said, she asked,"Wait, betting? Everyone's been betting on us?"

He nodded his head to answer, then said,"According to Danny, the whole family was in on it."

"I expect this from Danny, but gotta say, I am surprised by some of the others." She laughed.

The two continued to laugh and talk as they began to eat. He couldn't help but smile as she let out a small moan each time she took a bite, then talked about how good the food was. It had been a while since she had food from one of their favorite restaurants- since she moved back to the city and Jamie had come to her apartment for the first time.

"After this, we can move into the kitchen. I brought some cake mix to make cupcakes." He told her after he took a sip of the wine.

"So for my Valentine's present, I have to bake my own dessert?" She joked.

"Yeah, I thought it would be fun. I brought all kinds of stuff to decorate it with too." He explained, starting to rethink his decision until she began to laugh.

"I'm just kidding, Jams." She said, reassuring him. "I actually think that is a great idea. It's been awhile since we baked. I missed it."

"Me too." He said with a nod. While daisies made them think of his mom; baking made them think of her mother. All of their childhood memories were intertwined with each other, and neither one would have it any other way.

"Then, I figured while the cupcakes are cooling, we could watch a movie like we use to."

She gave him a small nod, then shoved some food in her mouth instead of saying anything in return. She couldn't help but feel like she was getting mixed signals from him. In her opinion, it felt like when he did something romantic, he had to play it down like it wasn't a big deal and she couldn't understand why.

As she chewed her food, he added,"But just so you know, baking cupcakes together and watching movies isn't your main present. I got you something else."

"Seriously?" She asked surprised as she raised a hand to cover her mouth while chewing. After swallowing the food, feeling even more confused, she said,"You are really going all out this year."

"It's not that big." He argued. "Just a nice, low-key, night in."

She blew out a breath as she raised her wine glass and took a big swallow, finishing the glass off. She held it out, wanting him to refill it, then silently began to eat her food again. She hated to be a downer, especially after everything he had done to make it special, but she didn't know how to take all of this. His actions were telling one thing, but his words were saying something completely different.

Jamie made small talk with her as they continued to eat, but he could tell she wasn't as chatty as she usually was and become curious about that. Did the night take a turn and he didn't notice it before or was it about something else?

Maybe it was something with work or she was thinking about all the drama surrounding them. His main job tonight was trying to give her a normal night; a night without thinking about Jimmie or the Blue Templar, and at the moment, he felt like he was failing.

Finishing their food, he began to clean up all the trash then took it into the kitchen to throw it away. While in there he grabbed her present, then went back into the living room and sat back down beside her.

He smiled and handed her the small, wrapped, rectangle box. She took it from his hands and was tempted to shake it for clues, but knew he would just roll his eyes and jerk it away from her to open it himself. He would always fuss at her for shaking presents and trying to spoil the surprise.

She flashed him a smile, then tore the wrapping paper off. She let out a laugh when she saw it was a box of cracker jacks. She held it up as she flashed him a look, then asked,"Is this to replace the one you stole?"

"Allegedly stolen." He corrected her. He gestured toward it,"Open it. There might be a surprise in there too."

She laughed and opened the box, seeing the familiar small red, white and blue package the prize came in. She pulled it out, raising her head for a moment to smile at him, before she looked back down at it and ripped it open. She turned it upside down to pour it out, expecting to see a small cheap toy coming out like usual, but her mouth dropped open in surprise when a silver necklace with a snowflake charm came out instead.

"Jamie..." She breathed out as she raised her head to look at him. "This is beautiful, but are you sure? I mean, you sure it's not too much-"

"It's not that big of a deal." He cut her off. With some of the double shifts he worked recently he had a little extra. He knew he should have put the money toward his student loans, but he really wanted to give her something. He wanted to give her something that would cause the reaction he was getting now.

At his comment, she couldn't stop a frustrated sigh from escaping her lips as she lowered her head and looked down at the necklace in her hand, seeing how the snowflake charm sparkled by the candle light.

"Hey..." He quietly said, reaching out to grab her chin and forcing her head up to look at him. "What's wrong? If you don't like it, I can exchange it for-"

"No, I love it." She interrupted him as she closed her hand over the necklace and moved her hand toward her chest.

"Then what's wrong?" He questioned, confused on her reaction.

"It's nothing." She said with a shake of the head.

"Nol..."

"I shouldn't say anything. It's not that big of a deal." She lied.

"When has that ever stopped you before?" He joked, she had always spoke her mind to him, no matter how big or small it was.

"Okay, fine." She breathed out. She looked him straight in the eye as she questioned,"What are we doing here, Jamie?"

"What?" He asked confused.

"What are we?"

"We're taking it slow..." He said. When he saw the look on her face, he was starting to wonder if she was having second thoughts about that. "Right?"

"Then what is all of this about?" She questioned as she gestured around the room. "You did all of this for me and now this beautiful necklace..." Her voice trailed off for a moment in thought, before she continued,"But then, you say things like 'we're taking it slow', and keep saying all of this isn't that big of a deal-"

"I... I don't-" He began to stutter, before adding,"Nol, I don't know what you want me to say?"

"I can't tell you what to say, Jamie." She said, standing up from the floor. "You have to figure that out on your own. And once you know what you want to say, you know where to find me." She softly added as she held out the necklace and dropped it in his hand.

Jamie let out a sigh as he ran his other hand through his hair, this was not the way he thought the night would go. Thinking of something his brother said, he mumbled out,"Maybe there is a Valentine's Day curse."

Hearing what he said, she came to a stop and turned to look at him. "Wait, what did you just say?"

Raising his head to look at her, he repeated,"I said, maybe there is a Valentine's Day curse."

She made a face, then said,"That's weird. Earlier today, Danny said something about a Valentine's Day curse and how I needed to be careful."

"Danny's the one that told me about the curse. He told me I should keep tonight casual." He said, standing up and thinking the same thing she was. "Wait, you don't think he-"

"Would sabotage us to win a bet?" She finished for him. She shook her head, a chuckle escaped her lips as she said,"This is Danny, of course he would. But the real shocker with all of this is you taking his advice. What the hell were you thinking, Jams?"

He laughed at her comment and ran a hand over his face. "I don't know what I was thinking." Dropping his hand, he gestured between them,"I mean, other than I didn't want to screw this up, so I was trying to be careful."

"What did you want to do tonight?"

"I wanted to go all out." He admitted. He walked over to her and came to a stop in front of her,"I wanted to tell you exactly how I feel about you."

She gave him a smile as she said,"Well tell me."

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he spilled out his feeling, there was something else he wanted to do first. He shook his head, then said,"I would rather show you."

"What?" She asked, lowering her eyebrows in confusion.

"Come on." He said back as he began to pull her toward the door, blowing out candles on the way. He grabbed her coat, then held it out,"Put this on."

"Well, wait, should I change first?" She questioned as she gestured down toward the work outfit she had on; a pair of dark-colored pants and a light-colored blouse. She had no idea where he was taking her and didn't know if she needed to be more dressed up or dressed down.

"No, you look amazing just the way you are." He stated. "There is one other thing you need though." He added as he motioned for her to turn around.

With a confused look still present on her face, she did what he asked, then felt her lips curl up in a smile, when he placed the necklace around her neck. She laid a hand on top of the snowflake charm as he clipped it in the back, then grabbed her shoulders to turn her around.

"There. Perfect." He said, smiling at her. It made him happy to see the beaming smile on her face and knew he was the cause of that.

Even as kids he always loved making her happy; like when he threw her the kind of birthday party he knew she wanted or the time he found a stray dog in his backyard and took it to her. The two kept it hidden a couple of weeks from their parents- scared they would make them give the puppy away, until they saw signs around the neighborhood about a missing dog.

He knew how upset she would be having to give it back, but they both knew it was the right thing to do. Next week when he received his allowance he used the money to buy her a stuffed toy in shape of a dog that looked a lot like the puppy and bought her some of her favorite cupcakes to cheer her up. He was always doing things like that for her, he could never stand to see a frown on her face.

After helping her with her coat and waiting for her to slipped on a pair of shoes, he took her hand and led her out of the apartment and toward the stairs. After climbing several flights of stairs, he pushed open the door leading to the roof of her building.

The owners of the building had the small area decorated with potted plants and flowers as well as a couple of tables and several chairs set out to sit on. Above their heads were also lanterns to light up the area at night. Any of the tenants were welcomed to hang out up there, but the place was deserted at the time thanks to the cold weather that night, making them feel like they were the only ones in the world.

"What are we doing up here?" Noelle questioned him with a laugh.

Jamie ignored her question as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through it before he found what he was looking for. As a slow song began to play, he laid the phone down on a table, then walked over to her and held his hands out for her to take.

Another chuckle escaped her lips as she placed her hands in his and he pulled her toward him, one arm circling around her waist as his other hand held on to hers as the two began to slowly sway side to side.

"Years ago, there was a Valentine's Day dance at our school and there was this amazing girl I wanted to ask to be my date..." He began to say, causing her to smile, knowing he was talking about her. "But the problem was, she was my best friend and I was terrified of screwing things up between us, so I didn't say a word to her and instead we stayed home and watched movies while she basically ate all the chocolate candy."

She laughed out loud and shook her head. "I shared the candy, Jams, don't go changing history."

"Giving me one piece... the piece you didn't want anyways, doesn't count as sharing, Nol." He joked. As she laughed at his comment, he continued,"Anyways, that started a tradition with us, but there was a part of me that always kinda wished I would have asked her to that dance."

"Flash forward to senior year, I asked that amazing girl to be my prom date and I couldn't be happier." He added. "But, I had that little voice in my head the whole time reminding me that this beautiful girl is my best friend, so I better not screw this up. So we mostly stood around, talking to our friends and drinking punch... I kept it friendly the whole time."

Letting go of her hand, he wrapped that arm around his neck,"But now, I owe that girl a dance."

"Yes you do." Noelle teased with a nod. "But, I gotta say, this definitely makes up for back then. You have redeemed yourself, Jams."

"Good to know." He said, before he dipped her, causing her to let out a loud laugh.

He pulled her back toward him, the two smiling at each other, until he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers as he held her close and the two continued to dance under the starry sky.

"Jamie..." She whispered, her forehead still pressed close to his.

"Hmm?" He questioned as he lightly ran his thumb up and down the back of her neck. He moved his hand up to tangle his fingers in her hair, then opened his eyes as he pulled her head back to look down at her, waiting to see what she going to say.

She nervously licked her lips, before softly admitting,"I don't want to go slow with you." Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, she quickly added,"I mean, I know we just started dating and this might be way too fast, but I don't want to do casual with you."

"You don't?" He questioned.

Noelle didn't say anything for a moment as she tried to read his expression, trying to see if they were on the same page or if she was making a huge mistake, but for once she couldn't tell what he was thinking. But she figured she started this, might as well finish it.

"As far back as I can remember, I've always had feelings for you, Jamie; more than friendly feelings." She began to say. "I've imagined moments like this so many times I've lost count. I knew I shouldn't feel that way about you, I knew it would end in heartache, but I couldn't stop and I tried everything. I've tried to date guys to distract me, but that never worked because I always came back to you. And then I had to sit there while I watched you date girl after girl and I always hoped, one day, you would come to me..."

Her voice trailed off as she lowered her head for a moment until he lightly grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He lightly ran his thumb over her cheek as he waited for her to finish, knowing she had more to say.

"But then you met Sydney and I knew she wasn't like the others. I watched you fall in love with her and the friend in me wanted to be so happy for you, but the girl who had feelings for you was jealous and hoped you two wouldn't make it." She admitted. "And I felt horrible for that, I hated that I secretly wished it wouldn't last. And then one day you told me you were proposing to her and I felt my heart shatter. Sometimes I wondered if this was punishment for wishing it would end; like I deserved this by being a terrible friend."

Seeing her eyes water, he held her face in his hands, and run his thumb under her eye, catching a tear. "I'm sorry, Nol, I never knew-"

"It's okay." She interrupted him, her voice barely above a whisper. "You were happy, so you didn't see it, and that's okay, because Jamie- you deserve to be happy."

"So do you, Nol." He said. "All I ever wanted was to make you happy."

"You do." She smiled. "You have always made me happy, Jamie. Even when my heart was breaking; you could still make me happy, because that's just who you are. You're just so loving and sweet and selfless, you've always made me proud to call you my best friend. But I can't deny that I always wish that one day I could call you something more."

"So what you're saying is..."

"What I'm saying is... I don't want to be just friends with you, Jamie. I don't want to go slow or casual with you, I want to be serious with you- I want only you, Jamie Reagan." She said as she stopped swaying and stepped out of his arms. She nervously played with her fingers,"I knew that when I was a little girl and those feelings have never changed. I know I might be coming on a little strong, and if you're not there yet, and want to keep taking it slow-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jamie grabbed her hands and pulled her back toward him, his lips capturing hers as he put everything he was feeling into the kiss. He held her face in his hands, then pulled back slightly to look at her.

"I don't want to go slow with you either." He softly said.

"Really?" She questioned, a wide smile appeared on her face.

"Really." He answered with a nod. He softly caressed her cheek, before adding,"This is all I want, Nol- just you, no one else."

"So this means we're really together? Like boyfriend/girlfriend together-together?" She questioned, needing to be sure before she got too excited.

"Yes, that's what it means." He laughed as she began to grin at his answer. He called her a dork, then leaned forward to kiss her again.

Realizing what just happened, she let out a happy squeal as she pulled back to say,"Oh, my God, do you realize what just happened? We just had the talk."

"Yeah, we did." He said with a nod, a chuckle escaping his lips. "And now that the talk has happened, we can get back to this." He added, before he pulled her face toward his to capture her lips for a passionate kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers going into his hair as she pressed her body against his, then grinned against his lips when she felt how that action affected him. She raised up on her tiptoes and tilted her head to the side, deepening the kiss, until something wet hit her cheek.

She pulled back in surprise, then let out a gasp when she noticed it had started snowing; making the scenery around her look like a real life snow globe.

"It's snowing. Jamie, it's snowing!" She said excitedly as she clapped her hands together and began to glance around.

He laughed at her antics, then watched as she tilted her head back and began to turn around in slow circles. When she lowered her head back to look at him- knowing what was coming next, he nodded his head to the side as he said,"Go ahead."

Noelle flashed him a smile before she turned and ran over to the other side of the roof, peering over the side and looking down below to watch the big snowflakes floating around before landing somewhere and sticking to the surface.

She watched for a few minutes longer, then turned back to look at Jamie, and motioned for him to come join her. He came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned back against his chest and the two watched the snow fall down around them with the most beautiful skyline in front of them. In their opinion, there was no place better than New York City- there was no place better than home.

A few minutes later, she felt him brush some hair aside before his lips were pressed against the side of her neck. She bit her bottom lip, her eyes flutter closed as she tilted her head to the side, giving him better access. When she began to rub her butt against the front of his pants, he let out a low groan, causing a fluttering in her stomach, knowing she was the cause of that sound.

She spun around and threw her arms around his neck before pressing her lips against his for a hard kiss. He took a step back from the sudden impact, the back of his legs hitting one of the chairs sitting out. He laid his hands on her hips, then sat down in the chair, pulling her toward him. Their lips never parted as she straddled his lap almost as soon as he sat down, neither one really paid attention to the cold as they got lost in each other, the heat between them keeping them warm.

His cold fingers fumbled with the big buttons on the front of her coat, until he finally got it open and began to push the fabric off of her shoulders. She felt the heavy snow landing on her shirt, then melting into the thin cloth and cooling her skin. She shivered from the sensation of cold combined with his lips against the front of her neck. She ran her fingers through his damp hair, pulling him closer to her as she rolled her hips causing him to let out a moan.

Realizing how quickly this could get out of control, she breathed out his name, trying to get his attention. He didn't give any indication that he heard her as he left light kisses down her neck, then began to nibble on the soft skin where her neck met her shoulder. Now it was her time to let out a moan as he alternated before biting and licking her skin. As much as she was enjoying this, she knew it was time to move things inside.

"Jamie, wa-wait." Noelle muttered. She tightened the hold on his hair, then pulled his head back, a whimper leaving her mouth as she missed the feel of his lips on her skin. "We should go inside." She added, now that she had his attention.

"I'm sorry." Jamie breathed out. He ran his hands up and down the thick fabric covering her arms,"Are you cold?"

She shook her head and bit her bottom lip. From the look on her face, he now knew why she suggested going inside, causing a shiver of excitement down his spine. He gave her a nod as he said,"Yeah, let's go in."

Minutes later, as soon as they walked into her apartment and shut the door, he had her back against it as his lips were on hers, trying to pick up where they left off on the roof. He kicked his shoes off and jerked his jacket off, then slipped his hand under her coat, pushing it off the rest of the way and heard it hitting the floor by their bare feet. He grabbed her hands, placing them against the door above their heads, then pressed his body closer to her, causing her to breathe out his name.

He released one of her hands, then ran his hand down her arm before laying the hand against the side of her face. Forcing himself to stop kissing her, he pulled back to look at her, a smile upon his lips as he ran his thumb over her swollen bottom lip- the two basically panting as they tried to catch their breath.

He couldn't deny that he had been thinking of this moment between them a lot lately, but he didn't want to rush it, he wanted to take his time.

Noelle smiled back at him, then laid a hand on top of his. She puckered her lips to kiss his thumb, then moved his hand to kiss his palm and the inside of his wrist. She pushed the sleeve of his sweater back to lay more kisses against his skin, causing his breathing to quicken again.

She grinned against his skin, then gave his forearm one more kiss before pulling back to look at him. She kept her eyes on him as she reached out to grab the bottom of his shirt then began to lift it up, seeing that he had another shirt on under it- a white t-shirt, she grabbed that one as well and removed both shirts.

She laid a hand on his bare chest and pulled in a breath, she had thought of this moment since she was a teenager. She felt a slight blush on her cheeks as she thought of all the times in the summer when he would be shirtless around her at the pool and she always imagined what it would be like to touch him in that way. His skin was a lot smoother than she would have ever imagined. She ran her hand down to his toned stomach, never realizing how much her light touch was turning him on.

He thought nothing could feel better than her fingertips dancing across his skin, until she stepped forward and pressed her lips against his skin. He breathed out her name as he placed a hand on the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her silky hair.

When she kissed up and nibbled his collarbone, he gripped her hair and pulled her head back, his lips crashing against hers for a heated kiss. As he slipped his tongue in her mouth, his other hand went to the front of her shirt as he began to unbutton the blouse and pushing it off of her shoulder.

Jamie pulled back to look at her as he continued to pull the shirt off, revealing the tank top she had on under it. He ran his fingertips over the exposed skin on her shoulder, brushing the thin strap aside and causing her to released a shaky breath. She closed her eyes and let out a moan when he began to kiss the area he had just touched.

Needing to feel more, he reached out to lift up the tank top, but when his fingers brushed against her skin near where the scar was, she quickly pulled back to break the connection.

"I'm sorry-" He began to apologize, until she shook her head to stop him.

"No, I'm sorry." She said back. "It's just- it's the..."

"Scar?" He finished for her, earning a nod in response. He grabbed her hands, then took a few steps back toward the couch, sitting down on the arm of it. He shook his head before saying,"It's okay, Nol, we don't have to do this."

"No, I-I want to." She stated. "I want this, Jamie, I really do. I just... give me a minute."

Knowing she needed to overcome this fear, she blew out a nervous breath, then gripped the bottom of the shirt, her fist tightening around the thin fabric. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she slowly began to lift the top over her head, leaving her in a lacy bandeau bra.

She dropped the top on to the floor then self-consciously wrapped her arms around herself, laying her hand over the scar and tried to cover up as much as she could.

Jamie shook his head as he reached out to remove her hand, he lightly ran his fingers over it, causing goosebumps on her skin. He lifted his eyes to look at her as he softly said,"You shouldn't hide this."

"Why not?" Noelle breathed out. A pained look appeared on her face,"It's nothing but a big, stupid reminder."

"You could say that about any mark on your body or mine." Jamie said. He pointed to a small scar on his chest- a few inches above his nipple, then said,"You remember this? This was when we were throwing rocks at glass bottles and a piece flew back and cut me."

"I remember." She said with a nod. "That was definitely not one of our bright ideas."

"And this..." He began to say as he stood up and unbutton his pants. She raised her eyebrows and couldn't stop herself from checking him out as he removed them and stood in front of her in a pair of dark boxers briefs. He pointed to his knee as he added,"This scar here is when I tried to do a backflip on the trampoline."

He stepped closer to her, keeping his eyes on her as he reached down to unbutton her pants. He paused for a moment when he saw her breathing pick up, then began to pull them down when she gave him a short nod to continue. After she stepped out of the pants and brushed them aside, he kneeled down and lightly ran his finger on the side of her knee before placing his lips against the scar, causing her to bit her bottom lip to hold back a moan.

He raised his head to look at her, the tone of his voice soft as he said,"And this scar, is from when Bobby Romano dared you to skateboard downhill while holding on to his bike. You fell off of the board and was dragged a short way before you let go. Remember that?"

She nodded her head to answer, not being able to find her voice as she sank down to the floor in front of him. She also remembered how he sat with her and she buried her face in his shirt so no one could see her crying. Danny threatened to kick Bobby's ass while Joe ran back to the house for help.

He laid a hand on the side of her face, running his thumb over a small scar above her lip,"And this is from when you had chicken pox- which you gave to me a week later." She let out a chuckle, remembering that as well. Growing serious, he added,"All of these scars are just stories, and the scars on your side and ankle are just stories too."

He moved his hand to the back of her neck, then began to guide her back toward the blanket they sat on earlier. He reached out to lightly touch the scars on her ankle, then lifted her leg before placing his lips against the scars, showing each one attention.

He raised his eyes to look at her as he softly said,"These scars show how strong you are. They show how, no matter how hard it was, you never gave up." He placed her leg back down, her foot against the floor with her knee bent. He kissed the side of her ankle again, then began to leave light kisses against her skin as he went up her leg.

When he made it to her side, he did like before, kissing around the long, deep scar before moving his lips closer to it, showering it with soft kisses. Anytime she looked at the scar now, he wanted to erase the bad memories and wanted her to remember this moment- the moment where he loved every inch of her and saw her scars as a badge of bravery.

He kissed up her body, laying out beside her, before pressing his lips against hers for a tender kiss. He reached down to softly touch the scar on her side, then pulled back slightly to whisper,"And this scar, this is the story of how you faced death and you survived it, and there is nothing more powerful than that. Nothing at all." He closed the gap between them to brush his lips against her, before he added,"I don't care how many scars you have, you're beautiful, Nol. Every single part of you is beautiful."

Noelle smiled at his words, then laid a hand on the back of his neck to pull him down toward her. As he kissed her deeply, she hooked a leg around his waist and pulled him closer to her, letting out a moan at the skin on skin contact. He pecked her lips a few more times, then pulled back to ask if she wanted to move this to the bedroom.

She shook her head, before saying,"You know, I always kinda wanted to do it in a field of flowers, so this is probably the closest I will get to that."

"Really?" He questioned with raise eyebrows. He removed the daisy from behind her ear, then lightly ran the petals over her top and bottom lip. "You never told me that."

"Like I was really going to tell my best friend that I wanted to have sex in a field of flowers." She said with a laugh.

"You could have told me that." He argued. "We told each other everything."

"Okay, let me rephrase that..." She began to say. "I couldn't tell my best friend that I wanted to have sex with him in a field of flowers."

"Oh." He said laughing, he understood now why she never said anything. He began to run the flower down her body, the petals lightly tickling her skin as he started at her chest and went down to her stomach. He raised his eyebrows then said,"Now you can tell me things like that and maybe there is something we can do about that."

"I think we should do something about that now." She softly said as she bit her bottom lip then grinned at him.

"I think you're right." He said with a nod as the two began to kiss again. With her leg still around his waist, he lightly ran the flower down her outer thigh, then hooked his fingers under the waistband of her lacy panties and began to pull them down.

The two might not be in the middle of a field surrounding by flowers, but laying on a blanket with several daisies surrounding them with the moonlight streaming in was better than anything she could imagine. She didn't need anymore fantasies now that she had the real thing.

She always thought he would be gentle and he didn't disappoint as he spent the night touching her in ways she had never been touched before. Neither one was a virgin, but sex with other partners never felt like this, they came together and bonded in a way they never thought possible. In this moment, their feelings went from more than friends to something else that felt a lot like love.

•••

 _A/N; Nol x Jamie are official together! It's about time, right? lol. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and been looking forward to this scene since pretty much the beginning._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to BLBLF, jlmayer, LungTienXiang, werks, traceyaudette, lilnightmare17, Guest- Anica, Guest, mcgeeksgirl, Daniel Reagan, BTR14, RyeBreadQueen, Sage Londyn, Eddie Reagan, Beth, Mrs. TylerLockwood and Love. Fiction. 2015 for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	19. Lucky

**19; Lucky**

Hearing a loud noise, Noelle popped her eyes open, then reached out beside her to wake up Jamie, but was met with an empty space. She turned her head, her eyes trying to adjust to the dark room as she wondered where he was.

When she heard another sound coming from the living room, she sat up in bed and called out his name, hoping that was who she heard moving around in her apartment. With shaky hands, she reached out to grab the baseball bat leaning against the bedside table, then slowly stood up from the bed. She tiptoed across the bedroom floor and made her way into the small hallway.

She paused when she made it to the bathroom door and saw it was closed with a stream of light coming from under the door. Leaning closer to the door, she heard the shower running and blew out a breath, realizing Jamie was in there. Maybe the noises she heard earlier were not coming from the living room, but from the bathroom.

She lightly tapped on the door before calling out his name, but didn't hear anything back in return. She tried one more time, then figured he couldn't hear her over the water. For peace of mind, she continued down the hall and into the living room, wanting to make sure everything was still locked up. After checking the windows, she walked over to the door, seeing that all the locks and the chains were in the place.

She laid the bat against the wall by the door, then went into the kitchen, checking each cabinet and was pleased to see everything was out of ordered and disorganized. She never thought she would be so happy to see things so untidy and messy, she was the type that needed to have things in order or it drove her crazy.

Growing up, her brother was bad about going through her room and moving things around when he was looking for something to pawn or borrowing something and never putting it back. She still liked things placed in a certain way, but after Jimmie she wasn't as organized anymore.

Feeling a little more calm, she made her way back down the hall, heading for the bedroom. She paused by the bathroom door again, noticing the light was out and the silence on the other side. She smiled and figured that meant Jamie was in the bedroom waiting for her.

With a skip in her step, she bounced the rest of way down the hall and walked into the bedroom. There wasn't much moonlight that night because of the thick cloud cover, casting the room in darkness. There wasn't even a lamp on in the room to chase away the shadows, making her feel a little uneasy as soon as she had walked into the room.

Seeing someone standing by the bed, she tried to adjust her eyes to see better as she nervously spoke,"Jamie..."

"Nope." She heard a chilling voice say; a voice she had hope to never hear again.

As her body began to shake in fear, he reached out to switch the lamp on, the soft glow hitting half of his face, but she didn't need to see it all to know it was Jimmie.

He flashed her a sinister smile,"Guess again."

Noelle let out a scream before her eyes popped open and she sat up in bed, her breathing labored. Seeing a dark shadow from the corner of her eye, she turned her head, seeing someone standing in the middle of her dark room, which reminded of her the horrible dream she just woke up from. She let out a terrified scream as she scooted back, her back slamming against the headboard.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Nol. It's only me." She heard Jamie's calming voice say. He quickly crossed the room and flipped the lamp on as he sat down beside her. As she lowered her head and placed her hands over her face, to hide her watery eyes and embarrassment, he removed them then laid his hands on either side and forcing her head up.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream at you-"

"It's okay." Jamie whispered, cutting her off. He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then her lips, before adding,"You don't have to apologize, Nol." He pulled back to look at her, brushing her hair away from her sweaty face as he asked,"Jimmie?"

Noelle nodded her head to let him know that is who the nightmare was about. "What was the dream about?" He questioned.

"It doesn't matter." She softly said with a head shake as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"It does matter." He said back, matching her tone as he reached out to unwrap her arms. He took one of her hands in his, lightly running his thumb over the back of her hand,"Tell me, Nol."

"I dreamed he was in here... in the apartment. It was dark..." She motioned around the room,"Like now. I thought it was you, but then he switched the light on. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, it was just a dream... but it felt so real."

"It'll never be real." He said, reaching up with his other hand to wipe a tear from under her eye- one she never knew she had shed.

She gave him a small nod, wishing she could believe that, but she knew how Jimmie was. Noticing he was dressed in his blue uniform, she lowered her eyebrows and asked,"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I gotta get to the station." He answered as he softly caressed the side of her face. "Which is why I was stumbling in the dark, by the way. I was trying to get everything together, but I didn't want to wake you. I wasn't even thinking about the Jimmie stuff. I was just trying to be quiet, I'm sorry, Nol."

She shook her head, brushing off the apologize. She leaned against his hand and shot him a small smile, before saying,"You could have woke me up though. You know I don't sleep much anyways."

"No, but you should." He said back. "Sleep is good, Nol."

She turned her head slightly to kiss the inside of his wrist, before flashing a look and asking,"You know what else is good?"

He raised his eyebrows at her words, judging by the look on her face he knew what she was thinking. He scooted closer to her, then shot her a grin as he leaned closer to her, his lips inches from hers as he whispered,"I have a pretty good idea, but you should still tell me."

"I could." She whispered back. She lightly brushed her lips against his, a grin on her face as she added,"Or I could show you."

He chuckled at her comment, then slid his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck before closing the gap and pressing his lips against hers. As his lips moved against hers, she laid her hands on his chest, closing her hand and gripping the fabric of his uniform.

"How long before you have to leave for work?" She mumbled against his lips before the two began to kiss again. She pulled back before adding,"I mean, leave-leave, you know, before you'll be really late?"

"Hm." Glancing at the alarm clock by the bed, he answered,"About fifteen minutes."

"I can work with fifteen minutes." She softly said as she ran her hand up his chest and around his neck. "We can do a lot in fifteen minutes..."

Laying back against the mattress she pulled him with her. Once he was comfortably laying half on top of her and half on the bed, she ran her fingers through her hair as she teased,"Twice."

He laughed at her joke, then ran a hand down her side before slipping it under the t-shirt she had slept in- which happened to be his that she stole.

"Actually, in fifteen minutes, I'm nowhere near done with you, Nol." He said, his voice low before his lips were against the side of her neck, causing a fluttering in her stomach.

"Oh really?" She questioned with raised eyebrows. She laid her hand on the back of his head, gripping his hair, before she pulled his head back to press her lips against his for a deep kiss. "Too bad you can't be late." She mumbled against his lips.

"Too bad I can't just lay here in this bed with you all night." He added as he lightly ran his fingers down her side. If he didn't need the money, he wouldn't have had to pick up extra shifts. "I would if I could." He whispered as he moved his fingers over to her stomach, his fingertips dancing over her skin.

"I know." She whispered back as she lightly ran her nails over the back of his neck. "I know you would, but I also understand that you have to work, I just wish..." She paused for a moment, before softly admitting,"I just wish you didn't have to work the graveyard shift. I like when you're here at night, it makes... it makes me feel safe."

"I'm sorry, baby." He quietly said as his other hand caressed her cheek. "I'll drive by the apartment when I can to patrol the area, and Danny said he'll park someone out front the nights I do work. We're all watching out for you, Nol, I promise."

She gave him a smile before pressing her lips against his for a tender kiss. She knew he- along with the other Reagans, would do whatever to protect her, but she still hated to involve them; she worried about their safety as well as her own.

All thoughts of Jimmie were chased out of her mind when he brushed the t-shirt up to expose her stomach before pressing his lips against her skin, causing a shiver down her spine. She breathed out his name, feeling him grin against her skin while his hands roamed over her body.

When he lightly bit the skin around her bellybutton, she arched her back and let out a moan, getting lost in the moment until they heard a cell phone beep, letting them know there was a new text message.

Noelle let out a groan as she laid her head back against the pillow. Assuming it was her phone, she ran a hand through her hair, before saying,"Ugh, it's a body call."

"A body call?" He asked confused as he raised his head to look at her.

"Yeah, like a booty call, but instead it's a dead body..." When she saw the look on his face, she let out a laugh, then said,"You know what, never mind. It was something Will made up one night, and at the time, it was kinda funny- which I blame lack of sleep on, but now that I hear it... not so funny."

Sitting up in bed, she reached out to grab her phone, then shook her head as she said,"Nope, never mind, it's not mine." She sat hers down, then grabbed his to hand to him,"Must be yours."

"It's probably Renzulli reminding me it's my turn to spring for coffees." He said, unlocking his phone to check the message.

"Or Danny." She said back with a laugh. He had texted the couple the last couple of days, trying to figure out how their Valentine's date went, but they both knew he really wanted to know if they were official yet so he'll know if he won the bet with his wife or not.

Jamie chuckled at her comment, then nodded his head when he saw it was a text from Danny. "It is from him." He stated as he raised his head to look at her for a moment, the two laughing together until he lowered his head to read the text causing his face to fall.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed as she fell back against the pillows. Seeing the look on his face, she asked,"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's-It's Dad." He said, his face paled. He raised his head to look at her, his voice barely above a whisper,"He was shot."

"What?" She breathed out as she quickly sat up. "Oh, my God, Jamie, is he- is he okay? Please, tell me he is okay." The older man was like a second father to her and she knew none of them would be the same without Frank Reagan in their life.

"We don't know yet, Danny says he's in surgery now." He answered as he looked at the text again. He was reading the words but feeling like this wasn't even real- it felt like he was lost in the middle of a bad dream.

"Jamie..." Noelle softly said as he kept his head down. She reached out to take the phone from his hands, then wrapped her hand around his. She said his name again, then waited until he looked up at her, before saying,"Come on. We need to go to the hospital."

"The last time..." Jamie began to say, his voice trailing off as he tried to get control of his emotions. "The last time I got a text like this and went to the hospital..."

As his voice went out again and he bowed his head, she scooted closer to him and wrapped her other hand around his, then brought it up to her lips to kiss the back of it. Feeling tears in her own eyes, thinking of Joe like he was, she sniffed before quietly saying,"This isn't going to be like that time, Jamie. He's gonna be okay. He has to be okay."

He nodded his head at her words, holding on to them and hoping they were true. He wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her toward him as he hugged her close, trying to gain strength from her. He knew they needed to get to the hospital, but he just needed a moment- a moment to wrap his head around this, a moment to fall apart before he needed to be strong for his family. He only needed a moment.

•••

"In a word: lucky." The doctor explained to them minutes later while Noelle and the Reagan family walked with her down a hallway. "He took some shot to his left arm and chest that impacted the artery but missed the heart." She continued.

After feeling better prepared to handle this, Jamie and Noelle went to the hospital after she threw on an old pair of blue jeans and slipped on a pair of shoes. The couple met up with the rest of the family and were now being informed by the doctor about Frank's condition.

"Is he talking? Is he sedated?" Danny questioned.

"Oh, yeah, he's talking." The doctor answered. "He's already trying to talk his way out of here."

"How long before he gets to go home?" Erin asked.

"We'll hold him for two days, minimum. I want to keep him under observation to make sure there's no pulmonary involvement." She answered.

"And we can see him now?" Noelle asked what everyone else was wondering.

"Yes, but only for a few minutes, he needs to rest." The doctor answered. She came to a stop and turned her head to look at Noelle as she added,"And only family." She wasn't trying to be rude, just following the rules. She knew who everyone else was, but was unfamiliar with the brunette.

"She is family." Jamie pointed out as he wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him. His comment caused the rest of the family members to nod their heads in agreement, giving Noelle permission to be involved with the family matter.

"But he's going to be okay." Henry said, more of a statement than a question which got the doctor's attention as they all began to walk again.

"He's in remarkably great shape. And, as I said, very lucky." The doctor answered as she came to a stop outside a room which had someone on either side of the door for protection. She motioned toward the door,"Here we are."

Danny stood back and ushered everyone else in first, then wrapped an arm around his wife as the two walked inside the room together. Erin quickly greeted her father and rushed to his side to give him a kiss on the cheek as she laid an arm around his neck.

Frank placed a hand on her arm, hugging her back the best he could, then he glanced at the rest of his family around the bed. Hoping to put their minds at ease, he said,"I'm going to be fine. Promise."

"You're looking at one grateful bunch, Francis." Henry said to his son as he stood beside Erin on one side of the bed, while Linda and Danny were on the other side, and Noelle and Jamie were standing at the foot of the bed.

Noelle wrapped her arms around herself as she looked over at the older man- the one she always saw as a superhero like her own father, but it was hard seeing him hooked up to machines and looking weak. It was a version of him she never wanted to see.

She glanced over at Jamie from the corner of her eye, seeing he was struggling with the same thoughts as she was. She unfolded her arms, then reached out to grab his hand, giving it a squeeze, hoping that one simple act gave him some comfort.

"What can you tell us, Dad?" Danny quietly asked.

"They ruined my best blazer." Frank said, trying to lighten the mood and getting a small chuckle from most of the crowd around him.

"About the shooter." Danny added, getting him to the subject at hand.

"I know, Danny." Frank said with a slight nod. He was quiet for a moment, they didn't know if it was because he was deep in thought or feeling a bit loopy from the medicine.

"I don't know much." He finally spoke with a sigh. "Dark sedan. I'm sure my guys got the make. Shotgun, obviously." He pointed toward his neck, which was bandaged as he added,"This one was a flyer. Most likely a sawed-off shotgun because, uh... a blast came from inside the car. I didn't see the shooter."

"Think for a second, Dad." Jamie said, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't want to push his dad, but they needed a description, they needed to find the person responsible for this.

"I am thinking, son." Frank said back.

"Dad, was he white, black, clean-shaven, beard? Can you remember anything?" Danny pushed. Like Jamie, he hated doing that, but they needed to know everything.

"What happened to Walter?" Frank asked, changing the subject from himself to his friend.

"He's fine. A sprained wrist from breaking his fall." The doctor answered him.

"Good." Frank said, laying his head back against the pillow with a sigh of relief. "I just wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to Walter." Turning his attention to the doctor, he added,"Maybe, Doctor, you could, uh... check on Walter."

"Dad, can you just try to remember anything..." Danny tried one more time.

"He's still in some shock." The doctor told him, then turned toward Frank as she added,"Commissioner, I'm going to take your family downstairs to get some of our wretched coffee and then we'll check back with you in a little while."

"We'll be right outside, okay?" Erin said, giving him another kiss.

While Jamie patted his father's foot at the end of the bed, Noelle brushed passed Erin and Henry as they began to walk away and gave Frank a hug, before whispering in his ear that she was glad he was okay. He gave her hand a pat and flashed her a small smile.

He gave the others a short wave before dropping his hand as they began to walk out of the room. Noelle came to a stop beside Jamie as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him to press his lips against the side of her head.

Hearing his brother's phone go off, he gave Noelle's back a small pat before telling her he would join her in a second. She nodded her head in understanding as she began to walk along behind the others out of the room while Jamie hung back to listen to Danny's phone call.

After ending the call, Danny looked at his father, it was hard seeing him like this, but he knew he had to remain strong, he had to solve this case. He let out a sigh, trying to get control of his many emotions, then turned to walk away. Seeing Jamie standing near the doorway, he leaned toward him as he quietly said,"These guys are toast."

•••

For the next few hours, Noelle sat in a waiting area with most of the Reagan family. Danny left not long after they saw Frank, he wanted to see if he could be a part of the investigation and see what he could find out. Now he was back with coffee for everyone and a disappointed look on his face.

"How's he doing?" Danny questioned.

"Well, we're hoping he's getting some sleep." Erin answered.

"What's going on out there?" Jamie asked, wondering what he found out while he was gone. He leaned forward to grab a styrofoam cup for himself and one for Noelle. He handed her one, then wrapped his arm back around her shoulder and let her lean back against him on the couch.

"Well, they found the shooter car over in Greenpoint, but nobody's claimed responsibility yet." He answered as he sat down beside his wife, Linda. "Intel's looking at some, uh, Mexican cartel that's got a habit of taking out public officials when one of their own gets pinched."

"The Reynaldos?" Erin guessed.

"Yeah." Danny said, looking over at his sister.

"Special Prosecutor on that is a friend of mine. I'll lean on him in the morning." Erin suggested.

"Good." Danny said with a nod.

"Look, I know this is your father, but take care not to overstep your boundaries here." Henry said to the siblings.

"I don't even know what the boundaries are in a situation like this." Erin said with a pained look on her face as she thought of her father lying in the hospital bed. She couldn't help but think how worse it could have been, like the doctor said, he was lucky- they all were.

"I'm just saying..." Henry added.

"It's Erin, Grandpa. She wrote the book on 'by the book'." Danny joked.

"I'm just supposed to cruise the beat and hope somebody calls 911 with a guilty conscience?" Jamie questioned, hating that there was nothing he could do to help since he was only a rookie.

Hearing the pain in his voice, Noelle titled her head back to look at him, then reached up with her free hand to caress the side of his face. He kissed the palm of her hand and smiled down at her to thank her.

Seeing the moment between the couple, Danny raised his eyebrows. If there wasn't so much going on, he would have comment on it then. Instead he commented on what his brother said before,"It is what it is, kid. Get used to it. Vincenzo squeezed me out too."

"And I bet he'll have his feet up on Frank's desk by the morning." Henry scoffed, referring to Frank's second-in-command; who was filling in while he was recovering.

Hearing her phone beep, Noelle shifted around and pulled it out of her pants pocket. Seeing it was her father calling, she tilted her head back to tell Jamie she would be right back. He gave her a nod then dropped a kiss on top of her head before she stood up from the couch to walk off to the side to talk to her father to give him an update on Frank.

Jamie leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched her talk on the phone. Needing a distraction, he stood up from the couch, planning to find a vending machine. He wasn't really that hungry, but figured she might be- plus he figured he would grab extra in case any of his family wanted anything.

He had only taken a few steps, when he heard someone walk up behind him, followed by his brother saying,"Hey, kid, wait a minute."

"Hey, what's up?" Jamie asked as he turned to face Danny.

"Listen, I didn't want to say anything to her yet..." Danny began to say before looked over at Noelle who was still on her cell phone. He turned back to look at his brother as he added,"But I got in touch with the director of the mental hospital-"

"And let me guess... Jimmie's not there." Jamie cut him off.

With an irritated look on his face, he nodded his head, before saying,"He was released weeks ago."

Jamie quietly swore and turned his head to look at Noelle on the phone. Even though they were sure that Jimmie was in New York, there was still that small little hope that they were wrong, now they knew for a fact that he was the one terrorizing her.

He turned back to his brother as he asked,"What the hell happened? Why did they let him go? Do they not know what he did... He could have killed her!"

"Apparently it was all just a big mix-up." Danny said, then explained,"There was another patient- same last name, similar first name and a new worker who wasn't paying attention. I'm sure you can fill in the rest."

Jamie scoffed and shook his head before looking back over at her again, feeling a pain in his heart when he saw her laugh at something her father said over the phone. He didn't know how he was going to tell her the truth; how could he tell her that since someone released the wrong patient, her worst nightmare was back just like they had feared?

"Why didn't they say something sooner?" Jamie questioned as he looked back at his brother. "If they would have said something when it first happened maybe the cops could have caught him before he fled the state."

"They wanted to keep it in-house and thought they could fix the problem before it got out." Danny sighed, seeing his brother roll his eyes- which was basically his reaction when the woman explained it to him after he asked her the same question. The director was more worried about a lawsuit than doing the right thing.

"So much for that because the problem is out." Jamie said sarcastically. "And now it's here in our city, and after the woman I..." His voice trailed off as his brother raised his eyebrows at him. He cleared his throat, then continued,"Anyways, he's here and we need to find him... fast."

"And we will, kid." Danny promised him, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he walked past him. He paused for a moment in thought, then turned back to look at his brother as he said,"Hey, quick question."

"Yeah?" Jamie questioned.

"You two together now, right?" Danny asked, nodding over toward Noelle.

"Yeah." Jamie nodded with a smile on his face.

"And that happened when?"

"Valentine's Day." Jamie said, the smile on his face widen when he saw his brother drop his head and mumble a curse word under his breath. "So much for your whole Valentine's Day curse, huh?"

"Oh, no, the curse exist." Danny stated, thinking about how he lost the bet to his wife. He shook his head as he muttered,"It really exist."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, there is a curse..." Jamie began to say, then jokingly added,"It's you, Danny. You're the curse."

Danny chuckled at his words, then said,"Hey, let's keep this quiet for now and if Linda ask, it was after Valentine's Day, okay?"

Jamie shook his head as he laughed. "I'm not helping you cheat, Danny."

"Boy scout." Danny teased before he walked back over to the rest of the family and sitting beside his wife.

Jamie chuckled then looked over at Noelle, the joking mood from before fading away. He saw her turn, her back toward him now as she looked out a window. When she wrap an arm around herself, as if trying to protect herself from something, he couldn't help but think the talk with her father had taken a turn. If he had to guess he would bet that her father was asking about Jimmie.

Wanting to comfort her, he walked over to her as she ended the call. She was lost in a daze, staring out the window when Jamie came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She jumped slightly until she realized it was Jamie behind her, then she leaned back against him. He apologized for frightening her then kissed the side of her head before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Dad says he's praying for your dad." Noelle softly said, folding her arms over his. "But then he also said, that he knows your dad is going to be okay. He said, and I quote: 'Francis Reagan is too stubborn to stay in that bed'." As Jamie lightly chuckled at the words, she added,"He said, he bets he'll be out of the hospital sooner rather than later."

"He's probably right about that." He said. "I doubt Dad is gonna let them keep him here for a couple of days."

She nodded her head in agreement, then turned in his arms to look at him. She reached up to lightly touch his face, seeing the worried look on his face, she softly asked,"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." He said his voice barely above a whisper. "A lot better since I've seen him, you know?"

"I know what you mean." She said back. She could tell there was something bothering him, more than everything with his dad, causing her to tilt her head, before saying,"There's something else, isn't there?"

"Nol, I..." He began to say, then paused as he tried to think of the best way to tell her. This was news he wished he never had to repeat, but he knew she had a right to know.

"You what?" She questioned when his voice railed off.

"I... Come on, let's sit down." He offered as he led her over toward a couple of chairs near the window they were standing next to. He sat across from her, keeping her hands in his as he nervously tapped his foot,"Nol, there's-there's something I have to tell you."

"What?" She asked confused, wondering what could be so bad to make him look the way he does. Remembering where they were, her eyes widen as she asked,"Oh, my God, is it your dad? Did something happen while I was on the phone-"

"No, no, nothing like that." He said with a shake of the head. "Nol, Danny made a call..."

"To who? About what?" She questioned when he paused again. "Jamie, just tell me what is going on, please. You're scaring me."

He blew out a breath, before saying,"It's about Jimmie."

Noelle sat up straight, feeling a chill down her spine, she had a really good idea what he had to tell her now. "He's out, isn't he?" She whispered.

Jamie slowly nodded his head, then scooted closer toward her, he pulled on her hands to get her attention, before saying,"But, hey, listen to me, we're gonna catch him."

"I know you're going to try-"

"I'm gonna do more than try." He cut her off as he stood up from the chair. He pulled her up from the chair and laid his hands on either side of her face,"Baby, I promise, we're going to get him, okay? Just trust me."

"I've always trusted you, Jamie Reagan." She honestly said, giving him a soft smile. "And that'll never change."

"Good to know." He said, smiling back before giving her a tender kiss. He rubbed his nose against hers then pecked her lips once more before pulling back to look at her. He brushed some hair out of her face and looked at her closely, like he had been doing for years.

Holding her face in his hands, he run his thumb over the mole on her left cheek as his eyes scanned over all the small freckles across her nose. He saw the corners of her mouth turn up before he looked into the dark hue of her eyes and knew in that moment something he had known since he was a kid; he was head over heels in love with her.

"What?" Noelle breathed out as he stared at her.

"Nothing." Jamie said with a shake of the head. As much as he wanted to say those three words to her, standing in the middle of the hospital while his dad was recovering from gunshot wounds was not the right time or place to tell her. He had to wait for the right moment, they had time.

He gave her another kiss, then seeing the doctor walk toward the family, he grabbed her hand and nodded toward the side. She nodded her head in understanding before the two walked back over to the family to hear what the doctor had to say.

"We're gonna let him sleep till 6:00 or so. I suggest you all go home and do the same." The doctor said to the family as Noelle and Jamie sat back down on the couch they sat on earlier.

"We're good here." She tried one more time, seeing the family getting comfortable on the couches. She had to admit, she wasn't all that surprised when no made a move to leave, but at least she could say she tried.

"Thanks for everything, Doc." Henry said sincerely. As the doctor nodded and walked away, he turned a chair around to face the direction of the room Frank was in, then he sat down, planning to keep an eye over his son the best way he could.

"So what did we miss?" Jamie questioned as he wrapped an arm around Noelle and pulled her back against him.

"Grandpa is packing." Danny stated, causing the couple to look over at the older man with raised eyebrows.

"You have a gun?" Noelle asked with wide eyes.

"Grandpa, it's a hospital." Jamie pointed out.

"That's what I said." Erin muttered as she took a sip of her spiked coffee.

"Someone shot my son tonight." Henry simply said, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"You also missed that." Linda said, nodding toward a bottle of liquor sitting on the table.

"I'll have some of that." Jamie said.

"Me too." Noelle added as she sat up and held out her cup as well as his. She took a sip from the cup, then leaned back against Jamie again. He held his cup in one hand, while his other arm was over her shoulder and across her chest.

She rested her cup against the inside of her leg, then laid the palm of her hand against his. She leaned back against him, laying her head on his shoulder and smiled when he dropped a kiss on top of her head and intertwined their fingers.

Feeling eyes on them, they turned their heads to see Erin, Danny and Linda watching them with smiles on their faces.

"So, I take you two are-"

"Yeah, we are." Jamie said with a nod, interrupting Linda's question.

"About time." Henry said as he held up his coffee cup, but didn't turn to look at them.

"I think what everyone really wants to know is... who lost the bet?" Erin questioned as she looked over at her brother, having a feeling it was him.

"Sorry, Danny Boy." Noelle said, feigning sympathy. "Your so-called Valentine's Day curse didn't work."

"Ha!" Linda stated as she playfully slapped her husband's knee. "Looks like you lost, honey."

"I can't believe you two couldn't wait one day... just one day." Danny complained, holding up a finger to get his point across.

"I can't believe you two were betting on us." Jamie said back as he clicked his tongue in disappointment and shook his head at them. He raised his and Noelle's joined hands to point a finger at them, before adding,"I would expect this out of you Danny, but not you Linda."

"I'm sorry." Linda said. "It was such an easy bet, it was clear to see what was about to happen between you two."

"Hm." Noelle hummed as she tilted her head back to look at Jamie. With an overdramatic loud whisper, she asked,"So, should we forgive her?"

"I dunno." He joked back, his tone matching hers. The two looked over at her, then back at each other,"She does seem sincere and she was betting for us."

"And the other one?" She questioned as they looked over at Danny; who did not look amused while his wife and sister were laughing at the couple's antics. Regardless of the severity of the situation, they all had to agree that it felt nice to laugh and forget all the drama for a moment.

"I'll have to think about that one." Jamie said with a chuckle before taking a sip of his coffee.

For the rest of the night, while Henry kept watch, the others talked until they began to fall asleep one by one. First it was the girls; Noelle was still laid back against Jamie, while Linda passed out with her head in Danny's lap, and Erin curled up on the end of the couch her younger brother and his girlfriend were on.

Danny felt himself nodding off, but snapped his eyes open after a few minutes. He looked over at Jamie, seeing he had his head laid back against the couch but his eyes were still open as he lazily ran his fingers through Noelle's hair.

"Hey, kid." He quietly said, getting his brother's attention. "You should get some sleep."

"I'll sleep when we catch him." Jamie said back. Neither one had to explain who the 'he' was, they both knew he meant Jimmie.

"There is nothing you can do for now." Danny pointed out. "Plus she's safe tonight and we're gonna make sure she is every night." His eyes cut over to the sleeping brunette- the one who was a huge pain in the ass sometimes, but it was no different from his other siblings, and it didn't matter that she wasn't family by blood because he still viewed the petite girl as family.

He looked back at his brother as he promised him,"We're not losing anymore family, kid."

Jamie flashed him a small smile, then tilted his head down to look at her as she slept peacefully against him. He had a feeling this was the most sleep she had gotten in awhile; most of the time her nights were restless and filled with nightmares, but he was going to do all he could to change that for her.

The first thing at the top of the list was finding the monster from her nightmares and get rid of him once and for all.

•••

 _A/N; Thank you to everyone reading and adding the story. Also big thanks to BLBLF, traceyaudette, BlueBlood82, RyeBreadQueen, Guest, werks, lilnightmare17, jlmayer, mcgeeksgirl, High Gaurdian, Daniel Reagan, Mrs. TylerLockwood, Love. Fiction. 2016, Charlottarosa, Guest- Anica and Guest for reviewing._

 _I also want to thank my bestie Sage Londyn, not only for reviewing, but also for making the amazing story cover I am using now. She has made so many amazing things to go along with this story, which you could find on my tumblr or hers (if you need links let me know- but our names on there are the same on here)_

 _Also, not only is she great at edits, but she's also an amazing writer, you should check out her stories; especially her gotham story if you are a fan of the show. It's one of my favorite stories._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	20. What Do You Know?

**20; What Do You Know?  
**

Early the next morning, the waiting room was flooded with light as the sunlight spilled in through the floor to ceiling windows. Everyone was sleeping except for Henry; who had sipped on his coffee all night and stared in the direction his son's room was in. Hearing a cell phone go off, he turned his head slightly then heard his grandson, Danny, quietly talk to someone.

As Danny quickly stood up from the couch, removing Linda's head from his lap and onto the couch, Jamie opened his eyes and heard his brother tell their grandfather they had a name before he rushed down the hall toward the exit. Jamie reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes as he let out a yawn, then tilted his head to the side to check on Noelle.

At some point in the night after he had fallen asleep, she had turned to face him and had basically climb into his lap with her face pressed against his neck. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a nightmare that caused that reaction. He wished she would have woke him up to comfort her, but he hoped his presence was enough to calm her in that moment.

He glanced at the time and realized he had to leave for work soon. He was able to get out of his midnight shift, but he was scheduled to work a double and they couldn't find anyone to cover the other one. He lightly rubbed her back as he whispered her name in her ear, trying to wake her up as gently as possible.

"Nol..." Jamie whispered again before kissing the side of her head. "Wake up."

"Hmm." Noelle mumbled. She pulled in a deep breath, then raised her head as she slowly blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the bright sunlight in the room. Seeing the look on his face, she guessed,"It's time for you to go, isn't it?"

"Mm hm." He nodded. He brushed some hair from her face and gave her a sad smile,"Duty calls."

He didn't want to leave; not while his dad was in the hospital and he didn't want to leave her either. Especially now that they knew without a doubt that Jimmie was out, but they both knew he didn't really have a choice.

She leaned forward to press her lips against his for a soft kiss, laying a hand on his chest and balling her fist around the fabric of his uniform, wishing she could keep him there with her. Between the regular dangers he faced out on the streets, combined with Jimmie being out there somewhere, she was more worried about him than usual.

"Be careful out there." She whispered against his lips.

"You do the same." He said, laying a hand on her cheek. Pulling back to look at her, he asked,"What time do you go in today?"

"Around noon." She answered. Knowing how close she was to the Reagans, her boss offered her the day off, but with everything going on she needed the distraction- plus she genuinely loved her job.

"Are you going to hang out here until then?" He questioned, hoping her answer would be yes. He would feel better knowing she was surrounded by his family while he was at work.

She nodded her head to answer him, then quietly asked,"You'll call me later, right?"

"I'll call you every minute I can." He told her with a nod.

"Okay." She mouthed as she fought to keep her eyes open.

He chuckled when she suddenly let out a loud yawn and quickly tried to cover it. He lightly kissed her forehead, before saying,"You should try to get more sleep."

She shook her head and mumbled,"No, I'm okay."

"Yeah, 'cause I always yawn when I'm wide awake." He joked.

"Shut up." She chuckled as she playfully punched his shoulder. With a sleepy smile, she added,"Now get to work, Officer Reagan."

"I'll talk to you soon." He promised as he gave her a soft kiss.

Noelle lazily nodded her head as he stood up from the couch, the action waking his sister up. Erin blinked a couple of time, seeing Jamie up and asked what was going on.

"I gotta get to the station." Nodding toward his girlfriend, he added,"Nol's gonna hang out here for a while though..." He cut his eyes to Noell,"Getting more sleep."

"I told you, I'm fine." Noelle argued.

Jamie opened his mouth to say something back, until Erin spoke,"You do look tired." She held out her arms,"Come on... get over here."

Noelle didn't argue as she scooted closer to the older woman and leaned against her, feeling her wrap her arms around her and hold her like a mother would a child. Jamie smiled as he watched the two girls, it always warmed his heart to see how close his siblings were to Noelle.

It had been that way since the beginning of their friendship, all of them had accepted her right away and she had basically become an honorary Reagan. His whole family loved her as much as him and there was no one he trusted more to watch out for her.

Seeing Noelle struggle to wrap her coat around herself, he let out a chuckle, then took the coat from her and laid it on top of her, tucking it around her and earning a small smile of thanks from her. When she laid her head against Erin's shoulder and closed her eyes, Jamie looked over at his sister and motioned toward his eyes then pointed at Noelle, asking his sister to watch out for her.

Erin lowered her eyebrows in confusion, wondering why he was asking that of her. She didn't mind doing the task, but for him to specifically ask her to watch over Noelle meant something was going on.

She gave him a nod, letting him know she would, then saw him give her a nod back to thank her. He kissed the top of Noelle's head and told his sister he would see her later. He gave Linda a short wave when he walked past the couch she was laying on, then gave his grandfather a pat on his shoulder before walking past him on his way to find the closest exit.

As he walked out the door and headed for the parking lot, his heart felt heavy knowing he was leaving behind his recovering father, his family and the woman he loves. He wished he could be placed at the door of the hospital room his father was in to protect him, but as a rookie knew they would never give him that job.

Laying against Erin, Noelle was able to sleep another hour until she felt Erin moving around, causing her to open her eyes and sit up when she saw the doctor walking over toward them. She felt her heart in her throat as she worried if something had happened to Frank overnight, but when she saw a smile appear on the doctor's face she blew out a breath and felt a sense of relief.

The doctor informed them that she had checked in on Frank and he was doing well. She told them she was happy with his progress and they could see him soon.

After the doctor walked away, Noelle slipped her cell phone out of her pocket, a smile appeared on her lips when she saw she had a text message from Jamie checking on her. She texted him back to tell him everything was okay and tell him the latest from the doctor.

She pulled up her contacts, planning to call her father to update him, then paused when she saw Spencer's name. She still hadn't heard anything from him and now that she knew for a fact that Jimmie was out, it made her worry about him even more. She had no doubt he blamed the detective for 'taking' her from him.

She told the others she would be back, then stood up from the couch to walk off to the side. She stood in front of a window, wrapped an arm around herself as she watched the snow fall outside while his phone rang and rang. She held her breath when she heard a click, then blew it out in frustration when his voicemail message began to play.

"Spence, I don't know what is going on... maybe nothing and maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I need you to call me." She pleaded. "And I know you say I should never worry about you, that you can handle yourself- that you're the biggest badass in Florida, but like I always remind you... you're not invincible."

With a short shake of the head, she added,"You're not Superman, Spence, but there is a very real villain out there and you need to be careful." She paused for a moment, different scenarios crossing her mind- each one worse than the previous one. She blew out a breath before softly saying,"Just call me, please."

After ending the call, she brought a hand up to her mouth, nervously biting her nails. She watched the snow fall for a little longer, usually the sight of the white flakes falling and the scenery covered in a white blanket would put her mind at ease and calm her, but not this time- this time there was too much on her mind.

She worried about Frank as he laid in a hospital bed, she worried about Jamie and Danny as they got more involved with her problems, she was worried about her friend Spencer, but most of all, she worried about what Jimmie's next step was going to be.

Slipping her phone back into her pants pocket, she turned away from the window and walked back over to the Reagan's. She plopped down on the couch beside Erin, a small sigh escaping from her lips, grabbing the brunette's attention beside her.

"Is everything okay?" Erin questioned her.

"Yeah." Noelle lied with a small nod. She didn't like lying to Erin, or any of the Reagan's, but she knew they had enough going on and didn't want to add more stress to their lives.

"You really shouldn't lie to a lawyer." Erin pointed out as she playfully shot her a look. "Plus, I know you Noelle, I can tell something is wrong."

When Noelle didn't say anything, just leaned back against the couch with her head falling back to rest on the back of it, Erin turned in her seat to look at her,"Does it have to do with Jamie asking me to watch over you?"

"What?" Noelle asked, turning her head to look at her in surprise. "When did he-"

"As he was leaving." Erin answered, knowing what she was going to ask. She lifted a hand, pointing two fingers toward her eyes,"He gave me the signal."

"Very sneaky, Jams." Noelle mumbled quietly to herself. She and Jamie had come up with several hand signals when they were young so they could have a whole conversations without anyone knowing. Through the years, his siblings had picked up on some of the signals they did- which wasn't that surprising since most were pretty self-explanatory.

"So, what has Jamie so worried about you that he would ask me to watch out for you?" Erin questioned.

"What ever it is... does it have to do Danny and Jamie having whispery conversations lately?" Linda questioned, overhearing them.

"Or why you've looked jumpy ever since you came back home?" Henry added as he turned his head for a moment to look at the girls, before turning back to look down the hall- where he had been looking since the night before.

Noelle stared straight in front of her as she blew out a breath, then whispered,"Yeah. Yeah it is."

"What's going on?" Erin asked with a concern look.

"Yeah, what happened?" Linda added.

Noelle looked from one girl to the other, the only person who didn't ask any more questions was Henry, but she knew he was listening in. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, before she softly said,"When I lived in Florida... I had a stalker. A really bad one."

"Oh, my God." Linda breathed out as she stood up from the couch and walked closer to the one Noelle was on to sit beside her while Erin scooted closer to her.

Noelle took a deep breath, then told them about Jimmie. She tried to keep her voice steady, wanting to keep her emotions at bay- something she had been doing for months; trying to be strong, trying to be brave, but it was getting harder to do that.

It was even harder to do when she felt Erin wrap an arm around her waist, while Linda wrapped one around her shoulders. She couldn't stop herself from breaking down as she laid her hands over her face and a muffled sob escaped.

"Shh. It's okay." Linda whispered as she ran a hand up and down her back, hoping to calm her.

"He's out there! I know he is and I'm trying to be brave because I don't want to worry Jamie or my dad or any of you." Noelle said, wiping the tears from her face. "I don't want to be this weeping mess. I want to be stronger than this- I have to be."

"You are." Erin argued as she wiped the remaining tears from Noelle's face. She gave her a soft smile,"You are stronger than you know, Noelle. Look at what you went through and you're still standing."

"But I'm scared." Noelle said back. "I am always so scared he is going to come after me again-"

"Let him." Henry interrupted, getting their attention. He stood up from the chair and made his way over to the trio. An angry look was on his face, until Noelle lifted her head and he saw the tears in her eyes, causing his face to fall. He loved her like he did his other grandchildren and it made him mad to hear what she went through and how badly it affected her.

"Let the creep come." He added. "He has a whole lotta people to go through to get to you this time, and frankly, I would love a shot at him."

Noelle gave him a small smile before she stood up to hug him, whispering out a thank you. Truthfully she didn't want him anywhere near Jimmie, but she appreciated the support.

The older man hugged her back, then pulled back to lay his hands on her shoulders, before saying,"Now dry your tears, buttercup. Don't let him take anything else from you, don't let him win."

Noelle nodded her head, knowing he was right. Jimmie had already taken so much from her; he had almost ended her life, but in a way he did take it. She never felt safe or sane anymore, she was jumpy and scared daily, and he haunted her dreams. He was constantly on her mind and all she wanted was her life back, but one of her biggest fears was she never would. She was terrified she would never be free from him, that she'll never be herself again.

•••

Noelle spent the rest of the morning with some of the Reagan's sitting by Frank's bed. The doctor came by a few minutes before she had to leave for work with an update. She told them things still looked good, which they were all relieved to hear.

Afterwards, she had to leave the hospital for work, but made them promise to call often with updates. She gave Frank a hug before Henry walked her out of the room. He flagged down a security guard to walk Noelle to her car, causing her to flash him a grateful smile before following the guard to the parking lot.

For the first few hours at work, she switched before doing paper work and texting with Jamie or one of his family members- Frank was still recovering well and was going to be released the next day.

During a short break, she had called her father to update him, he was pleased to hear that his friend was doing so well and planned to visit with him as soon as he was released. She had just ended the call with him, when her co-worker Will walked over to her to tell her they had a body to pick up.

Minutes later, Noelle walked into Casa Florinda with Will walking in behind her. The two slipped under the crime scene tape, then walked further into the restaurant where a small crowd was gathered toward the back where the bathrooms were located.

A soft smile appeared on her face when her eyes locked with Jamie's; she wasn't expecting to see him on the scene, but figured he and his partner, Renzulli, must have had gotten the call.

Keeping his eyes on her, Jamie stepped around a couple other officers, then made his way over toward her. He flashed her a small smile and laid a hand on the small of her back for a moment. He knew he should keep his hands to himself, but it had been several hours since he last saw her at the hospital and he couldn't keep his hands to himself.

She gave him a shy smile, then leaned a little toward him, bumping her shoulder against his. The whole exchange only lasted a few seconds- just a little moment between them that no one else saw, then the two went back to professional mode.

"First officer on the scene?" Noelle questioned him.

"Yeah." Jamie said back with a nod. "An anonymous call came in about the stabbing. Dispatch sent us to the scene." He explained, referring to himself and Renzulli.

She nodded her head at his words, then walked closer to the slumped over body. He was sitting at a table around a corner; at first glance he appeared to just be laying on the table- possibly resting or sleeping off a bender, until you saw the puddle of blood on the table and floor.

"This is how he was found?" Noelle asked as she turned to look at Jamie while pulling out a pair of gloves from her bag. "I mean, leaned over on the table like that? He wasn't moved?"

"No. We didn't touch him." Jamie answered. "Just saw the blood and called it in."

She nodded her head at his answer, then asked another question,"Has anyone IDed him yet?"

"One of the other officers checked his wallet." He said. "His name was Diego."

"Diego." She mouthed as she glanced over at the body. She slipped the gloves on and took a step closer to the body, before whispering quietly to the body,"I'm sorry, Diego." Regardless of what he did in his life, no one deserved this.

While she began to look over the body, Jamie stood nearby and watched her with a proud look in his eyes. He could see how passionate she was about her job and how confident she was doing something she knew she was good at. It was a look he recognized, this was the Nol he grew up with.

Hearing someone enter the restaurant, he turned his head to see Danny and Jackie walking in. He told Noelle he'll be back then walked toward the front of the restaurant to meet up with his brother.

"Hey." Danny said as he and Jackie went under the yellow crime scene tape. "Is he alive?"

"No. You caught this?" Jamie questioned, wondering if he and Jackie were assigned to the case.

"Ah, we were coming to scoop him up." Danny explained as the three walked toward the back to join the others. "According to him, he was the driver in the attempt on Dad last night." He had spoken to the driver, Diego, a few times that day and had talked him into coming in. They were trying to work out a deal with him if he gave them the shooter.

"This was the guy?" Jamie asked with a shocked looked on his face. He thought this was just a random murder, he never would have imagined it was be tied to his father's shooting.

"That's what he said." Danny stated as he turned a corner, seeing Noelle kneeled down beside the body, while the other officers were securing the area and looking for clues. He gave Noelle a quick nod in greeting, then motioned toward the body,"You guys checked his ID, right? His name's Diego?"

"Yeah, Diego, yeah." Jamie said.

"Damn it." Danny muttered. Turning his head to look at Noelle, he asked,"What can you tell me, Little Bit?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, Will spoke,"He's dead." When Danny blew out an annoyed breath and turned his head to look at him, he added,"My bad, you wasn't asking me."

"No, I wasn't." Danny stated.

"Plus, if you're gonna give me a pet name, I don't think 'Little Bit' fits me." He said, causing everyone to look over at the tall african american man. "Maybe big chocolate?"

"Or hot chocolate." Noelle offered with a shrug as she continued to work. She was starting to get use to his weird sense of humor. He was constantly cracking jokes on the scene, she figured it was the only way he stayed sane after dealing with dead bodies all day. Everyone in her profession has their own way of dealing with it.

"Yeah, baby, even better." Will laughed as he rubbed his hands together. When Jamie looked over at him with raised eyebrows, he held up his hands, then added,"Kidding, man. She's too short for me anyways."

Noelle snapped her head to the side to look at Will,"Seriously, you too?" She had always been picked on about her height- mostly by the Reagan boys, but by a few other people through the years, Now it looked like her co-worker had joined in as well.

"Sorry, Tinker-Elle, I'll break you in half." He joked.

"Oh, my God." She breathed out as she dropped her head, a chuckle escaped her lips. She shook her head at him, then looked over at Danny, changing the subject by answering his previous question about the dead body.

"He was stabbed in the abdomen area. Judging from how clean the cut is, the blade was sharp; whoever killed him, meant business."

Danny nodded his head at her words as Jackie wrote down what Noelle said in a small notebook. He opened his mouth to ask her another question, until they heard Renzulli; who had just came out of the bathroom holding a cell phone in his hand.

"I got a cell phone here. Somebody want to bag it?"

"Yeah, we'll take that." Jackie said, slipping the notebook into her pocket then began to walk over to him.

"Hey, hold on." Danny called out, getting their attention. "We're gonna have to get an emergency drop on that phone. The shooter's number is probably in there."

"How do you know that?" Noelle asked him.

"Hold on." Danny answered her as he held up a finger and dialed the number.

"The phone's ringing." Renzulli pointed down to the ringer device in his hand.

"It's his; I just dialed it." Danny stated as he ended the call.

He turned to look at his brother and Noelle, a disappointed look on their faces that he knew mirrored his own. He thought they were finally getting somewhere with the case, but now they were back to square one. They still had no idea who shoot Frank Reagan.

•••

After getting the body wrapped and load, Will had another pick up before heading back to the office, while Noelle spoke to Danny and Jackie for a few more minutes about her first impression, then told them she would let them know more once she did the autopsy.

She stood in the doorway of the restaurant, watching the heavy snow falling down outside. She smiled as one of the big flakes plopped down in front of her, before she buttoned her coat and slipped a knit cap over her head.

She stepped out into the snow and began to walk toward her car, which was parked a few building away from Casa Florinda. She was almost to her car when a snowflake landed on her nose and quickly melted, causing her to come to a stop and wipe the moisture away with her gloved hands.

She let out a chuckle as she lowered her arms to place her hands in front of her, watching more snow land on her arms then quickly melt into the fabric of her coat. Wanting to feel more, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes; feeling the cold, wet flakes plop on her cheek, forehead, eyelids and all over her face. She knew it might be a bit immature, but with everything going on, maybe this is what she needed- a moment in the snow which took her back to her childhood when things were easier.

With that thought in mind, she couldn't stop herself from sticking out her tongue, hoping to catch a snowflake just like when she was a little girl.

"How did I know I would find you out here trying to eat snow?" She heard a familiar voice say.

She lowered her head and smiled when she saw Jamie walk over toward her. She laughed at his comment, then said,"Because you know me so well."

"That I do, Nol. In fact, I probably know you better than you know yourself." He stated as he walked closer to her, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Is that so?" She challenged him with raised eyebrows.

"Mm-hm." He nodded. Seeing the knit cap on her head, he grabbed it on either side and pulled it further down as he added,"Just like I know you've had this since our freshman year at Harvard. You wore it every day that winter."

"That's a cheating, don't you think? Considering you are the one who bought this hat for me. Of course you're gonna remember it." She pointed out as she playfully wrinkled her nose at him and made a funny face, causing him to laugh and wrinkle his back at her.

She raised up on her toes, getting closer to his face, but paused when her lips were inches from his, before whispering,"That wasn't very impressive, Jams."

"You want to see impressed?" He questioned, causing her to nod her head. He wrapped an arm around her, resting his hand on the small of her back, then began to mess with one of the big buttons on the front of her coat with his other hand.

"This coat; you wore it recently when we went out to dinner. You had ordered your usual; cheeseburger and onion rings." He began to say. "Then while trying to pour ketchup around the onion ring one at a time- which is weird by the way; you accidentally poured some on the coat and was bummed out since you would now have to have it dry cleaned."

"Hmm." She began to say, pretending to think over what he said, then shook her head before saying,"I'm a little impressed you remembered that- and that is not weird, by the way. You know I hate squeezing out a bunch of ketchup and dipping it." She argued. "But, that was just a couple of weeks ago, so not surprising that you do remember it."

She playfully shook her head at him,"You gotta do better, Jams."

"Okay. It's time to bring out the big guns." He said, running his hand from her back to the waistband of the old blue jeans she had on. They were a pair she threw on the night before they went to hospital, she never went home to change before work since she had a short shift.

He slipped his thumb through one of the belt loops, then said,"These jeans; you found them in a thrift store eight years ago- right before we left for college. And you wore them every month when we got together for our monthly movie marathon in your dorm room since your roommate always went crazy once a month and stayed out all night."

She laughed at the memory, then said,"Hey, do you remember when you thought she was a werewolf?"

"It always happened on a full moon!" He exclaimed, then joked,"What else could she be?"

Another laugh escaped as she added,"There was definitely something wrong with that girl. I told you that I caught her squeezing toothpaste in her mouth! Like her head tilted back and just pouring it into her mouth. That is so weird."

"I remember that." He said laughing. He lightly pulled on the belt loop, then added,"But, back to these jeans- I remember you said they were your favorite and no pair has ever felt better."

"That's still true." A smile appeared on her face as she added,"I can't believe you remember all that. Now I am impressed."

He smiled at her comment, then moved his hand further down to rest on her backside. He leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear,"Well, I always thought your butt looked good in them, so it was easy to remember."

Noelle let out a gasp, before she pulled back to joke,"Jameson Reagan, you need to behave." She playfully slapped his arm,"We are on a job, you should be more professional."

Jamie laughed at her comment, then glanced around, noticing most of the officers had left. All there was left to do was question a few more people; which Danny just finished doing with him and was now talking to his partner. After explaining that to her, he added,"So, basically, I only have a few minutes before I have to get back inside, but I saw you leaving and wanted to tell you bye."

"How about you kiss me bye instead?" She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Even better." He said, pulling her closer to him with his hand still resting on her butt. With everything going on, it felt nice to laugh and joke with her for a moment; especially now that he knew his father would be alright. It was one less thing to worry about. Now if only they could find the shooter and he could get rid of Jimmie from her life, then things would be perfect.

"Kiss me quick then, Officer Reagan." She swooned. She laid a hand on her forehead, before adding dramatically,"Before they drag you away and try to keep us apart."

He laughed at her antics and called her a dork, before laying his other hand on the side of her face, cupping her cheek as he leaned forward to give her a gentle kiss. He rubbed his nose against her, before whispering against her lips,"Your nose is cold."

"It's snowing; what do you expect?" She laughed. She pulled back slightly to look at him and touched the end of her nose as she added,"Plus I had a snowflake land here."

He kissed the tip of her nose,"Right there?" After she nodded her head to answer, he added,"Anywhere else?"

"Right here." She said, pointing to her left cheek, then smiled when he kissed the area she pointed at. "And here." She added as she pointed to her jaw seconds before his lips were against her skin.

She bit her bottom lip to stop a moan as he kissed up her jaw to her ear, nibbling on her earlobe. "Know what this reminds me of?" He breathed in her ear, before nibbling on it again.

"Hmm?" She questioned, her mind going blank, all she could think about was the feel of him pressed against her and his warm breath against her skin.

"Valentine's Day." He whispered before pressing his lips against hers. He grabbed her chin, forcing her mouth open wider as he began to kiss her deeply, his tongue slipping into her mouth. He pulled back with his lips inches from hers as he added,"Your roof."

She grinned against his lips, before saying,"That was a great night. Second best time I've ever had on a roof."

"Me too." He mumbled. Realizing what she said, he lowered his eyebrows in confusion and quickly pulled back to look at her. "Wait, second time? What was the first?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She teased, before laughing out loud and adding,"I'm kidding. Trust me, I don't make it a habit making out on roofs."

"Jerk." He joked, before grabbing a handful of her coat and pulling her toward him. "You had me worried for a minute, Nol, I thought I had some competition."

"Trust me, Jamie, there is only you." She said, her tone low and honest.

He smiled at her words then leaned forward to kiss her lips, but before they could meet, they heard a cell phone go off. He pulled back to quickly checked his, worried it was Renzulli wondering where he was, then announced it wasn't his.

"Ugh." She groaned and reached into her bag. "It must be mine then."

"Another body call?" He joked, remembering when she had referred to it as such the other night.

"Shut up." She chuckled as she pulled the phone out.

He gave her a quick peck on the side of her head, telling her he would call her later, then turned to walk back inside, missing the look on her face as she looked at the caller ID. It wasn't a number that was in programmed in her phone, but she did recognize it as a number that had called her recently- back when the hospital called her about Baylor.

Jamie had only taken a few steps when he heard her gasp, then ask the person on the phone what happened. He turned to look at her, seeing she had a hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but before he could say anything, she stuttered out that she would be there soon before ending the call.

"Nol, wait!" Jamie called out as she began to rush to her car. He was about to go after her, but before he could take a step, he heard his partner call out his name, telling him it was time to go.

He turned to look at Renzulli, holding up a finger as he told him to hold on a minute. He turned back to look at Noelle, seeing her closing the car door after sliding behind the wheel of the car. He tried to go over to her, but she quickly backed out of the parking space.

As he stood there and watched her drive further away, several thoughts popped in his head as he wondered who could have called and what they said to upset her that badly. He wanted answers, he wanted to be there for her, but he couldn't- instead all he could do was stand there feeling helpless.

He heard someone walk up behind him, then heard his partner asked,"Where is she going in such a hurry?"

Jamie gave him a shrug,"I don't know."

Seeing the worried look on his partner's face, Renzulli said,"Look, kid, I know you want to go after her, but you can't."

"I know." Jamie mumbled with a short nod, a pained look on his face.

Renzulli gave his shoulder a friendly pat, then tried to comfort him by saying,"Come on, a few more hours and then your tour is over. I'm sure whatever is going on, she can handle it until then." Seeing that he was still worried, he tried to joke,"She's a little hellcat, remember? Someone would have to be crazy to mess with her."

Jamie continued to stare in the direction she had left in and slowly shook his head, his partner had no idea how true his statement was, and that is what worried him- the person who was crazy enough to mess with her.

"I know it sucks, kid, but we have a job to do." Renzulli added, when Jamie made no move to leave.

Jamie finally turned his head away to look at his partner as he softly said,"I know."

He looked back down the street for a moment, then turned and regrettably walked away, hoping whatever was going on she would be okay until he could be there for her; being her protector, her shoulder to cry on or whatever she needed- just like he had always done since they were kids. He would always be there for her.

•••

 _A/N; Hey all! Sorry this chapter took longer to get out than the others. Also sorry for the cliffhanger, although not really because I am evil like that, lol._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to RyeBreadQueen, jlmayer, werks, lilnightmare17, mcgeeksgirl, High Guardian, Guest, BLBLF, Daniel Reagan, Sage Londyn, Melpaon, xoxo, mia, Eddie Reagan, Guest and LungTienXiang for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_ **  
**


	21. Not All Heroes Wear Capes

**21; Not All Heroes Wear Capes**

Minutes later, Noelle rushed inside the hospital, her shoes slapping against the floor as she made her way toward the front desk. She came to a quick stop, her hands slamming against the front of the desk as she fell against it. She pulled in a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady as she asked for the room number of the patient they called her about.

She repeated the number to herself after hearing it, then nodded her head in thanks, before taking off down the hallway- reading each number that she came across until she found the one she was looking for.

Easing the door open, she slipped inside the room, seeing Spencer laying back in the bed. His eyes were up toward the ceiling as he flipped through the channels on the television, trying to find something good to watch with no luck. This was why he never bothered to watch anything and the main reason he didn't even own a television- work kept him busy anyways.

Hearing the door creak open, followed by a small gasp, he turned his head toward the door and felt his heart begin to race when he saw Noelle standing in front of the door. It had been several months since he had seen her, they had talked on the phone some here and there, but it wasn't the same as seeing her in person.

"You idiot." Noelle breathed out, a pained look on her face as she saw him laying in a hospital bed. She knew it wasn't the nicest greeting, but she knew how he was.

He was a jump first and question later kinda cop. He was the type that ran toward danger, not away from it. She remembered not long after he saved her from Jimmie, he was hit by a car from chasing down a drug dealer- thankfully he walked away from that with some cuts and bruises.

She still fussed at him though, telling him he needed to be more careful and reminded him he wasn't a superhero. He had given her a cheeky grin and told her she had nothing to worry about- yet here she was standing in a hospital room while he was laid in a bed hurt.

"Well, hello to you too, Elle." Spencer said back, his voice gruff. He tried to sit up, his face scrunched up in pain as he tried to hold back a groan when a sharp pain shot through his side.

"I'm sorry." She softly said as she walked closer to the bed. "I just... what happened? They said on the phone you were stabbed."

"Yeah." Leaning back, he curled his arm around himself and laid a his side where the wound was. "Guess we have matching scars now."

"That's not funny, Spence."

"It's a little funny." He said back with a smirk on his face. After she shook her head at him, he sighed,"Okay, you're right, it's not funny. I'm sorry, Elle."

"What happened?" She asked again as she sank down onto a chair by the bed. "Was it... It was Jimmie, right?" She added, her voice going out as tears filled her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening- the thing she feared the most has happened, Jimmie went after someone close to her.

"Actually, it wasn't." He answered.

"What?" She questioned, a shocked look appeared on her face. "Who was it then?"

"I don't know." He said with a shrug. "Some guy. He was a few inches shorter than me, brown hair... definitely a junkie. He was messed up on something bad. He was convinced I had taken something from him and he wouldn't back off, then he pulled out a knife and I'm sure you can guess the rest."

"And it wasn't Jimmie? I mean, are you sure?" She asked again. After getting the call about him, she was sure it was Jimmie that had attacked him.

"No, it wasn't him." He said. "I've never seen this guy before."

"He's out, you know?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I know." He said back, his tone matching hers. "That's why I'm here, Elle."

"Why haven't you called me? I mean before? I was so worried-"

"Nice to hear you're worried about me." Spencer said, shooting her a smirk.

"I'm serious, Spence." Noelle said, her face falling. "I've been calling and texting-"

"I know, I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I wasn't ignoring you or anything, you should know by now I wouldn't do that, Elle." He blew out a breath before explaining."I was undercover… deep undercover. It was weeks before I could even check my phone. When the case was over, I saw all of your messages, but there was one message I didn't have and I needed that before I could talk to you."

When she shot him a confused look, he added,"The mental hospital."

"You called them?" She asked surprised. Since she never heard from him, she assumed he never saw her text about calling the place.

"Yeah." He said with a nod. "Before the case started I called... actually before your text I had called. I just wanted to make sure- for you, Elle."

"I appreciate that, Spence." She said, giving him a small smile. "And let me guess, you called them again and that is when they told you he was out."

"No. The next time, I didn't bother with a call. I walked right into the building and demanded answers; demanded to see him or something. " He stated. An angry look appeared on his face, before he added,"They tried to give me the runaround at first, until I threatened to haul them in for questioning. That's when I found out; new worker, similar names and now the creep is out."

"You didn't have to come here. You could have just called." She pointed out. "I mean, not that I'm not grateful for you coming here, but considering what happened..." Her voice trailed off as she motioned toward him, referring to the fact that he was stabbed.

"Yeah, your city is not being very welcoming, Elle." He joked, earning a small chuckle from her. Growing serious, he added,"I know I could have called, but this was news I didn't want to give over the phone."

She nodded her head in understanding, then asked,"So, did your sergeant assign you to this case or something?"

Spencer didn't say anything for a moment as he thought back to when he approached his boss with the idea of going to New York to look for Jimmie and protect Noelle. He wanted to react a lot quicker this time, he wasn't going to just sit back while she was terrorized again. He was not gonna let what happened last time, happen this time.

 _\- Flashback -_

 _"He's out." Spencer scoffed, still having a hard time believing this was happening. After talking to the director at mental hospital and finding out Jimmie was released, he stomped out of the building and drove in a rage back to the precinct and went right into his boss' office.  
_

 _"That freaky creep is out. They let him out." He added as he paced back and forth, his anger getting the best of him._

 _"I heard you twice the first time, Detective Hayes." His sergeant, Gary Edwards, said with an annoyed sigh. He grabbed a stack of folders from his desk, trying to get his work done so he could maybe go home at a decent hour for once._

 _He dropped the folders in front of him, then pointed to the door as he added,"Now get back to work."_

 _"You want me to get back to work when he's out there!" Spencer exclaimed. "When he's already in New York!"_

 _"You don't know that he is." Gary argued._

 _"Not for a fact, but, Elle has already told me about things happening... just like before, and I told her she was safe." He said back. As those words hit him, he stumbled back for a moment, realizing what that meant. He had lied to her. He told her it was over and she was safe, but she's not. Her worst nightmare was free and he was stuck states away._

 _Spencer was quiet for a moment, then raised his head to look at his boss, before quietly saying,"Sir, I would like permission to go to New York."_

 _"Permission denied." Gary said as he flipped through paperwork in one of the folders, never looking up from the desk._

 _"Okay." Spencer breathed out. "Well, I would like permission to take a few days off."_

 _"Permission denied." Gary repeated._

 _"With all due respect, sir, I have vacation days saved up... If I wanted to take a few days off-"_

 _"I said denied." Gary said harshly as he finally raised his head to look at him. "You have several cases here that need your attention-_

 _"This case needs my attention!" Spencer snapped. "You know what happened last time, he almost killed her-"_

 _"Calm down, Detective." Gary cut him off. "You're getting emotional."_

 _"I'm not." Spencer lied._

 _"Yes you are." Gary said back. "And, frankly, you're too close to this. You've made it too personal."_

 _Spencer shook his head at his words as he reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his badge and dropped it on the desk. His sergeant let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and motioned toward the badge,"What is this? Don't do what I think you are about to do."_

 _"Maybe I am too close to this... maybe I did make it too personal." Spencer began to say, ignoring his comment. He grabbed his police issued gun and took out the clip before setting both down on the desk. "All I know is, last time, I hesitated and a girl almost died. I'm not letting that happen again."_

 _"Don't do this, Detective. You're making a huge mistake." Gary stated. When Spencer ignored him and turned to walk out of the office, he stood from his chair as he called out,"Hayes? Spencer!"_

 _Spencer heard him _let out a string_ of expletives, followed by the sound of folders and papers being swept off the desk, but he ignored it all as he kept walking forward. Gary was an old friend and a damn good boss, but he had to do what he thought was right- he had to protect Noelle at all cost.  
_

 _\- End Flashback -_

"Something like that." Spencer said, answering her previous question.

He didn't want to tell her the truth, because honestly it didn't matter. Nothing was going to stop him from coming to New York and protecting her from Jimmie. He was going to keep his promise to her; the promise he made her in the hospital after saving her- the one when he told her nothing like this would happen again, that she was safe. He would always keep her safe.

"I am glad you are here, Spence." She softly said as she flashed him a genuine smile.

"Well, I did make you a promise." He said, smiling back at her.

The two looked at each other for a moment, until her smile faded and she wrapped her arms around herself, almost as if she was trying to protect herself. "I just can't believe this is happening again." She added, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Elle-"

"It's not your fault." She cut him off.

"It is." He argued. "I should have been on top of this from the beginning; the first time you walked into my precinct and said you needed help."

Noelle blew out a breath as she leaned toward the bed and took her friend's hand, before saying,"Spence, you have to forgive yourself for that."

"For what?" He scoffed. "For not doing my job? I'm suppose to protect and serve the people of my city and I didn't do that. I just turned you away; how am I supposed to forgive myself for that?"

She gave him a soft smile, then quietly said,"Because I forgive you."

"Don't..." He shook his head.

"I'm serious, Spence." She stated as she grabbed his chin to turn his head back to look at her. "I don't blame you for any of this. Plus, I'll never forget that you were there when it counts."

She gave him a genuine smile as she added,"You saved me, Spence. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here; back at home, with my family and friends. None of this would have been possible if you didn't show up when you did- if you didn't save my life. I can never thank you enough for that."

For a moment, he didn't say anything back, just looked at her and noticed how different she seemed since he last saw her. The first time he ever saw her, when she came into the precinct, she was worried and a little scared, but hopeful- hopeful that the harassment will stop and that she was just being paranoid. Each time he saw her after that, the hopeful look in her eyes began to fade and was replaced with fear and she became frantic- for good reason since by then Jimmie had stepped up with his harassment on her.

There was still a hint of fear in her eyes now, but there was something else there too- she was stronger and more sure of herself than before. He couldn't help but think she definitely looked better than that time he busted into the house Jimmie had her held captive in. The look in her eyes that day was one he never wanted to see again; to see the life in them begin to fade away as she bled out on the floor and his hands still haunted him to this day.

Laying his head back against the pillow and changing the mood from serious to a joking one, he gave her a short nod,"Just doing my job, ma'am."

"Don't be modest." She said with a laugh. "You did a great job that day, Spence."

"Well, I am good at what I do." He said, shooting her a wink and causing her to laugh out loud.

"Don't be cocky either. You're not Superman." She joked, a comment she had told him often.

"Not all heroes wear capes, sweetheart." He said back with his trademark smirk on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She said with an eye roll. "One of these days, I'll find your kryptonite and you won't be so big and bad anymore, Hayes."

At her comment he laughed, but was pleased to know that she didn't realize she was already in possession of his kryptonite; it was her- she was his weakness.

"You wound me, Elle." He joked.

After the laughter died down, she reached into her bag and brought out a pen and notebook. She held them up, then asked,"So, tic-tac-toe or hangman?"

He smiled at the question, remembering he use to ask her the same one when he would visit her in the hospital while she was recovering from her injuries from Jimmie. "Hangman." He answered, then added,"As long as you don't cheat."

"I've told you before, Spence, being able to spell is not cheating." She laughed as she began to write out dashes for each letter of the phrase she thought of.

"Well, either way, take it easy on me. I've been stabbed, you know?" He reminded her.

"Are you really gonna milk that in order to win?" She questioned with raised eyebrows as she pointed the pen toward his side where he had been stabbed.

"You bet I am." He said, causing her to shake her head as a chuckled escaped her lips.

"You are a cop- a detective, you have a badge, yet you would cheat." She said, laying a hand on her chest and pulling in a dramatic gasp. "I am shocked and appalled."

"No, you're dramatic and crazy." He joked, causing her to slap his shoulder with the notebook. "Hey, injured man here!"

"You were stabbed on the other side." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but still, no need being all violent." He said back, acting offended until she shot him a look, causing him to crack a smile and let out a laugh with her.

"Okay, it is game time." She announced as she laid the notebook down for him to see. "I made it extra hard for you, good luck." She added sarcastically.

He looked at her for a second, then playfully shook his head at her as he looked down at the notebook. In this moment he couldn't help but think of the similarities between last time and this time. When she was in the hospital, this was basically how their days went- the only difference was he was plagued with guilt before.

There was still a lot he felt guilty for now, but he had to admit after her words earlier, he felt a little of that fade away. He still wished he would have helped her sooner, but she was right- he was there when it really counted and he would be there until he knew she was safe for good.

•••

After playing hangman with Spencer for a couple of hours, Noelle walked out of the hospital and into the dark night. She paused right outside the door and wrapped her arms around herself, latching onto the fabric of her coat as she nervously glanced around the parking lot.

There were a few cars pulling in and out of the parking lot, along with several different groups of people walking toward or away from the building, but nothing look unusual. She still tried to search each face though, making sure none of the faces was the one she saw in her nightmares.

She blew out a breath, wishing she would have left before the sun went down, but she didn't want to leave Spencer alone in a new city while injured. Knowing she couldn't stand there forever, she began to walk toward where she parked the car, the further away she got from the hospital, the quicker she began to walk.

Now she was wishing she didn't park so far away from the building, but at the time she wasn't thinking about that- she just wanted to get to Spencer; the nurse who called her didn't say much and she had already started thinking worst case scenarios after she heard the word 'stabbed'.

Hearing a noise behind her, she came to a quick stop and spun around as a gasp left her lips. She blew out a relieved breath when she saw it was only a piece of trash skipping across the pavement because of a light breeze blowing.

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, getting it out of her face, then turned to begin walking again, her pace faster this time. Getting closer to her car, her eyes widen when she saw the silhouette of a man standing next to it- of course she had to park in the spot where the overhead light had burned out.

With her heart beating in her chest, she came to a quick stop again and slipped a hand into her bag, grabbing the taser she recently bought and put in there. She pulled it out and took a step back as the person turned around and threw up their hands when they saw how terrified she looked.

"Hey, Nol, it's only me." She heard Jamie say, causing her to blow out a sigh of relief.

"You scared the crap out of me, Jamie." Noelle exclaimed as she walked toward him. She punched him in the arm to make herself feel better, then held up the taser as she added,"You almost made me use this."

"Wait, what is that?" He questioned as he took a step closer to her to get a better look at the device in her hand. His eyes slightly widen when he saw what it was. "A taser? When did you buy a taser?"

"Recently." She answered with a shrug like it was no big deal.

He blew out a breath and shook his head- hating what he was about to do, then held out his hand. When she shot him a confused look, he said,"I can't let you keep that, Nol." When she hesitated, he added,"I'm sorry, baby, but you know they are illegal to carry."

"So is kidnapping and attempted murder, but that doesn't stop some people." She scoffed and slapped the device in his hand. When she saw the look on his face, knowing how badly he hated doing this- he wanted her to be able to protect herself, but he had to follow the law. She sighed, then with a short shake of her head, said,"I'm sorry, Jamie. It's been a long day and I'm tired, I don't mean to take it out of you."

"You don't have to apologize, Nol. I'm sorry for scaring you." He said back reaching out to lay a hand on the side of her face.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned against his hand and blew out a breath, feeling her heart rate slow down and a sense of calm washing over her now that he was there.

As much as she was glad he was in front of her, there was one question running through her head.

"Wait, how did you know I was here?" Noelle asked as she lifted her head and opened her eyes to look at him.

Jamie swallowed hard, worried she was going to blow up at what he was about to say. "I put in a trace on your phone-"

"You tracked my phone?" She interrupted with a surprised look on her face.

"You just left, Nol! I have no idea what happened or where you were going! What the hell was I supposed to do-" He began to explain before she could yell at him, but was surprised when she rushed forward and threw her arms around his middle to hold him close.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and laid his other hand on the back of her head as he pressed his lips against the side of her head, blowing out a sigh of relief. When she left earlier without a word, he had no idea where she was going or who had been on the other end of the phone.

As the rest of his tour went on, he became more and more concern until he had no choice but to track her down by her cell phone. Knowing she was at a hospital didn't ease his mind much either, but once he saw her coming across the parking lot unharmed he felt like he could finally breathe easy.

"I'm a little mad that you went behind by back and tracked my phone..." She began to say, her voice muffled by his shirt. Pulling back to look at him, she added,"But I'm glad you're here and I understand why you did it. With everything going on and I just took off like that... I'm sorry."

He nodded his head, accepting the apology, then laid his hands on either side of her face before leaning forward and softly kissing her lips- he was just relieved she was okay and in front of him. He was curious about what was going on though, causing him to pull back and asked,"So why are you here at the hospital? What was the phone call earlier about?"

"Spencer is here-"

"Spencer as in your friend Spencer from Florida? He's here in New York?" He questioned, earning a head nod from her as an answer. He lowered his eyebrows for a moment, a twinge of jealousy hitting him, but he quickly told himself he had nothing to worry about. She said there was nothing between her and Spencer; he had to trust that and believe her.

"Why is he at a hospital in New York?"

"He found out that Jimmie was released." She answered his question. "He didn't want to give me that news over the phone, so he came here, but he was stabbed. The hospital called me after they found a card with my name and number in his pocket."

"Was it Jimmie?" He asked with wide eyes, coming to the same conclusion she had earlier.

"No." She said with a shake of the head. "He said it wasn't him, it was some other guy. So I guess some random robbery?" She added with a shrug- at least that is what he had told her he suspected it was.

"What if it wasn't random?" Jamie questioned. "Could Jimmie have someone working with him or for him?"

"I don't know." She mumbled as she thought more about his question; could it be possible he had someone helping him now?

He claimed he didn't make friends easy, but what if he found someone as messed up as him? Someone- like a druggie; who wouldn't be in their right mind and could be manipulated.

She took a step closer to Jamie, feeling him fold his arms around her and hold her close, but she still felt a chill down her spine at the thought of him having a partner now. Now she was going to be even more paranoid when she crossed paths with someone.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Jamie said sincerely. Pulling back slightly to look at her, he asked,"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." Noelle said with a nod. "But they want to keep him for a couple of days."

"How long is he staying here?" He questioned. "I mean, he just came to tell you Jimmie was out, right? And now you know."

"Right, but I don't know. He didn't really say." She shrugged causing him to nod his head. He wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't want to come off as a jealous boyfriend.

"So, I take it your tour is over?" She guessed, noticing he was in jeans and a dark t-shirt instead of his uniform. After he nodded his head to answer her, she added,"I was thinking of heading home for a little bit before visiting your dad, you wanna go with me or just meet at the hospital?"

Between Frank being shot and Spencer being stabbed, she had spent most of the previous night and that day in a hospital. She desperately needed a shower and food to even feel human again. After that, she figured she would head back to one of the other hospitals to visit with Frank.

"I'll meet you at the hospital. I got some things to do." He said vaguely.

"Is everything okay?" She asked with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah." He mouthed as he nodded his head.

Noelle looked at him closely, feeling like he wasn't telling her something or maybe he was just tired. After a long night at the hospital then a full shift at work, it would make sense that he would be. At least she hoped that was the reason, she would hate to think he would lie to her.

After a few silent minutes, she gave him a short nod, followed by a quick kiss on the lips before walking over to the driver side of her car. He followed along behind her and opened the door for her, telling he would see her soon. He stood in the same place as she backed out of the parking spot and began to drive away, making sure no one unusual was following her.

Once her car was out of sight, he walked over to his car and slide behind the wheel, then made a call to make sure someone was stationed outside of her apartment when she arrived. After ending that call, he made another call.

As the phone rang in his ear, his eyes cut over to the passenger side seat, where a yellow rose sat; a rose he just removed from her car before she came out of the hospital.

"He left another rose." Jamie said as soon as his brother Danny answered his phone.

"Different color?" Danny asked.

"Different color." Jamie answered. "This one is yellow."

"Why different colors?" The older Reagan questioned out loud.

"I don't know, but I had a theory."

"Which is?" Danny asked.

"What if it's suppose to be the colors of the rainbow." Jamie suggested. "I mean, the guy has problems, right? So maybe it's something he has to do in certain numbers or colors. But in this incident he's using different colors, so far; red, orange and now yellow- which happen to be the first three colors of the rainbow."

"Meaning there's what, three or four more colors to go?" Danny guessed.

"Yeah, four. Which makes sense since each rose also has a word and he's trying to say something." Jamie said. Although he didn't know why Jimmie would use a rainbow, since Noelle hated them. But this was someone who thought he was having a relationship with her; it just proved Jimmie knew absolutely nothing about the woman he's obsessed with.

"What word does this one have?" Danny asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

" _Be_." Jamie answered. "So now we have; _We Will Be_."

Danny let out a sigh, before saying,"So if you are right, we have four more roses and words to receive."

"And there's something else." Jamie began to say. "Nol's friend Spencer is in town and was stabbed. He's in the hospital, but he says it wasn't Jimmie that stabbed him. It got me thinking; what if he has a partner now?"

"Damn it." Danny softly swore. "It would make sense if he does. He has to know we are looking for him, so sending in someone else to do his dirty work will make it harder on us."

Jamie nodded his head,"And now instead of looking for just him, we need to look for anyone who comes in close contact to her."

"I'll make some calls." Danny stated as he sat up in his desk chair. Grabbing a small notebook and pen, he began to write down the things Jamie told him earlier as well as his own thoughts. "I'll check to see if anyone else was released when he was or if he had any friends or pen pals. I'll also have a chat with her Florida buddy, see what all he remembers about his attacker in case the two are related."

"What do you need me to do?" Jamie questioned.

"Keep an eye on her." Danny answered.

"Come on, Danny, I can do more than that. I have to do more than that." Jamie argued, feeling helpless. He would watch over her- he would always do that, but he also needed to do something else. He felt like he was sitting on the sidelines and all he could do was wait for tragedy to strike.

"You are doing more. You can also keep me informed when something happens." Danny answered. Noticing how quiet his brother got, he raised his eyebrows as he asked,"Did something else happen?"

Jamie blew out a breath and looked over at the passenger seat again, spying a picture he would recognize from anywhere since it use to be in his bedroom.

He reached out to pick it up, looking at the happy smile on Noelle's face as she had an arm wrapped around him and was pressed against his side. The picture was taken a few days before they left for college, that day they decided to explore the city and hit all of their favorite places they were going to miss. He knew he had an identical smile on his face, but it was hard to see now since his face was blacked out.

"Jamie?" His brother questioned, getting his attention.

"Nol's not the only one who had something on their car." He began to say. "When I left work, there was a picture on my windshield. It's a picture that was in my room, so I guess he took it that time he broke in. I haven't even noticed it was missing..."

"Is there anything on it?" Danny asked when his voice trailed off.

"He blacked out my face." Jamie said. He flipped the picture over, seeing the two familiar words he left him before. "And he wrote- ' _She's mine_ ' on the back."

"I need you to get me that picture and rose." Danny said.

"I doubt there are any prints. He never leaves prints." Jamie pointed out.

"I don't care!" Danny snapped, then took a deep breath, trying to hold on to his temper. This guy was really starting to piss him off. "Bring me the rose and picture, okay?" He added, his tone a little nicer.

"Okay." He said back.

"How's she doing with all of this?" Danny asked. He could only imagine how stressed and worried all of this was making Noelle- so much was happening at once it made his own head spin.

"I haven't told her." Jamie said with a sigh, his guilt eating at him. He hated keeping something like this from her, but he knew how scared she was already with everything going on, he didn't want to add to that.

"I don't like it, but I kinda agree." Danny said, feeling torn on the matter. Like Jamie, he hated lying to the younger girl, but she was a like a sister to him and he hated seeing how all of this was affecting her. If they could give her a little peace of mind; make her think the gifts have stopped, wouldn't that be worth it in the end?

"I don't like it either." Jamie quietly said as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling like the world's worst boyfriend.

Seeing his partner, Jackie, coming toward him and knowing she had information about one of their other cases, he held up a finger to her- letting her know he was coming. "Look, I gotta go, but I'll check out some things and keep you updated. In the meantime, be careful out there."

"I'm more worried about Nol. She's the one this creep wants." Jamie pointed out.

"Yeah, but the guy is delusional and thinks Noelle is his, right?" When Jamie agreed, he added,"So what do you think he's gonna do to the guy he thinks is taking her from him?"

When Jamie became silent over the phone, he continued,"Like I said, kid, you need to be careful."

•••

 _A/N; Hey all! So now you know the phone call was about Spencer. I'm excited to have him in NYC!_

 _Thank you to everyone for reading and adding the story. Big thank to werks, BLBLF, emmy72, High Gaurdian, jlmayer, mcgeeksgirl, traceyaudette, Guest, Daniel Reagan, Charlottarosa, Rasiel Hasu, Eddie Reagan, Love. Fiction. 2016, Guest- Anica, lilnightmare17, Guest, jobosfan and Sage Londyn for reviewing.  
_

 _Also, thank you all so so much for getting this story to over 300 reviews. I am honestly speechless that so many of you love this story as much as I do. I'll go ahead and end this note now before I get too sappy lol, but seriously, it means the world to me. Thank you all!_

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	22. Dedication

**22; Dedication  
**

After spending so much time recently in hospitals- even spending the whole night in one, Noelle was relieved to sleep in her own bed.

It wasn't long after arriving back at her apartment after visiting Frank the night before that she crashed. She wasn't sure how much time later passed when she felt Jamie crawl into the bed with her and she snuggled up against him before falling back to sleep, feeling his lips pressed against the side of her head.

It was morning now, she wasn't sure what time in the morning, but she could feel the sun spilling in from the window on her face. She let out a tired groan and tossed the comforter over her head, refusing to open her eyes when she felt someone jump on the bed. She had assumed it was Jamie, until she heard panting followed by a low whine.

Her eyes popped open as she lowered her eyebrows in confusion before slowly lowering the comforter down from her face. She was even more confused when she was met with a pair of dark brown eyes that belonged to a black and tan german shepherd dog; who was now stretched out on the bed beside her with her tongue hanging out and ears standing up in attention.

"Hi." Noelle said to the dog as she reached up to pet the top of her head, causing her tail to wag happily. "Where did you come from? Huh?" She questioned and let out a chuckle when the dog began to lick her hand.

Hearing a noise at the doorway, she and the dog turned their heads to see Jamie enter the room holding a tray of food. He sat the tray down on top of her dresser, then turned his attention to the dog as he said,"Hey! What did I say? I said to wait."

A chuckle escaped Noelle's lips as he continued to lecture the dog, then give her a quick scratch behind the ears- letting her know he wasn't really angry with her.

"So, what is all of this?" She questioned as she sat up in bed and gestured toward the tray of food and, of course, the dog now laying in her bed.

"This is breakfast in bed and-"

"A dog." She finished for him. "Honestly, that's what I was asking about the most. The breakfast part was kinda self-explanatory, but it's not every day you wake up to a dog in your bed when you don't have one." She added with a laugh.

"Well now you do." He said, sitting down on the edge of the bed- the dog now laying between them. When she shot him a confused look, he motioned toward the dog as he added,"She's yours."

"I have a dog?" She questioned.

"You have a dog." He said back, nodding his head. "I figured she could protect you when I'm not here and keep you company when I'm working the graveyard shift."

A smile appeared on her face before she joked,"Is this your way of trying to make up for taking my taser away?"

Jamie laughed at her question and shook his head before saying,"No, but I do still feel bad about that." He reached out to pet the dog as he softly added,"I just hate leaving you alone at night, plus I know you've secretly been wanting a dog for a while."

"I have." Noelle admitted with a short nod. She continue to smile as she pet the dog a couple of times, before saying,"She reminds me of that dog we found in the neighborhood when we were young."

He nodded his head in agreement,"That's why I picked her." A smile tugged at his lips when he saw how happy she looked petting on the dog, it was the exact reaction he was hoping for. "So what do you think? Is she a keeper?"

"She is definitely a keeper." She stated. She lowered her head to look at the dog,"Yeah, you're a keeper, right?"

She let out a laugh when the dog lifted her head to look at her and wagged her tail, like she could understand what was being said.

"What's her name?" Noelle questioned as she raised her head to look at her boyfriend.

"Daisy." Jamie said back with a smile, knowing the name would seal the deal.

"Perfect name." She said, feeling her eyes water for a moment as she thought of his mother.

As Noelle began to pet on Daisy more, he added,"She's about four months old and knows a few commands."

"Apparently not stay though, right?" She joked as she looked over at him, remember how he lectured the dog on not staying in the other room with him so he could surprise her with the dog.

"Apparently not." He agreed with a laugh. He reached out to pet the dog,"But we could train her, they said she's a quick learner."

"She is a quick learner. Aren't you?" Noelle questioned as she looked down at Daisy. She looked back up at Jamie and teased,"She already knows not to listen to you."

Jamie shot her a playful glare, then grabbed her ankle and pulled her to lay down on the bed, before he jumped on to the bed and hovered over her, causing her to let out a squeal of laughter in surprise.

The two turned their heads and laughed when Daisy jumped up and barked happily at their antics. She placed her head against Jamie's shoulder as if trying to push him away from Noelle, then used one of her front paws to pat his arm a few times before pushing her head against him again.

Jamie rolled off of Noelle, laying close to the edge on the other side. He shook his head and let out a scoff, before saying,"I feel like she's already picking favorites."

"Well you did say she's a quick learner." Noelle joked as Daisy laid down beside her and placed her head on her chest.

He chuckled at her comment then reached out to scratch the dog behind her ear, before saying,"I'm feeling a little offended here, Daisy. I thought we had become friends." Daisy lifted her head to lick his hand, then laid her head back down on Noelle's chest, causing him to laugh again. "Okay, you're forgiving."

Turning his attention to his girlfriend, he said,"I think you were right before, she is a keeper."

"Yes she is. I love her." Noelle said as she lowered her head to give the dog a kiss. "And I love..." Turning to look at Jamie, she paused when she realized she almost slipped and said she loved him. It's not that she didn't want to say those words to him, she just worried it was too soon.

She gave him a smile as she continued,"I love that you got me a dog. Thank you, Jamie."

"You're welcome." Jamie said, returning the smile as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers. He pulled back slightly and softly caressed her cheek,"Hey, just so you know, Daisy's not the only keeper around here."

"Good to know." She said with a chuckle before bring his face back to hers for another kiss.

He slipped a hand to the back of her head, intertwining his fingers in her silky hair as the two continued to kiss until they heard a whining noise and pulled back with a chuckle to look down at Daisy. Noelle loved on the dog while Jamie stood up from the bed to grab the tray of food from the dresser.

"You should probably hurry and eat so we can walk her before we have to leave." He suggested as he sat the tray of eggs, bacon and toast down in front of her on the bed.

"Wait, walk?" She questioned as she shot her head up to look at him.

"Yeah, you have to walk dogs, Nol." He laughed.

"I know but... I hate walking." She whined.

"How are you this lazy?" He joked.

She gave him a shrug before saying,"It's a talent."

He chuckled at her comment, then suggested,"How about you eat while I walk her?"

"I think that makes you the best boyfriend ever." She said back as she flashed him a smile.

She reached up to grab the front of his shirt, balling her hand around the soft fabric, then pulled him down toward her. With his face inches from hers, she added,"And, hey, after you get back, since we're in a hurry, I'll let you shower with me."

He smiled at her offer as he laid a hand on the side of her neck, then ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "I think that'll make us even later." He said, his voice low causing a fluttering in her stomach.

"Maybe later then." She said, tilting her face up to press her lips against his. "Then I can thank you properly." She mumbled against his lips, feeling him smile at her comment.

"Definitely later then." He said before pecking his lips against hers one more time before he pulled back. "Until then, I'll just take this as payment..." He said, swiping a piece of bacon from the plate.

"Jamie!" She exclaimed, hearing him laugh as he began to walk out of the bedroom, calling for Daisy to follow him. "You know crispy bacon is my favorite, jerk!"

Hearing the front door shut, she grabbed the other piece of bacon. She bit into it and leaned back against the pillows with a smile on her face; despite all the bad that was going on around them, Jamie could still found a way to make her happy, it had been that way for as long as she could remember.

If she was sad and crying, he would wipe away the tears and find a way to make her smile again. If she was scared, he would hold her hand and take that fear away. No matter the mood, he could make it better. It was one of the many things she loved about him- now if only she could tell him that, if only she could speak those three little words out loud.

•••

"Do you think the others are here yet?" Noelle asked when Jamie pulled the car into the parking lot near the building where the dedication for Joe was taking place.

The atrium at John Jay College was being dedicated in Joe's memory that day and the whole family was going to be there; even Frank.

The doctor wanted to keep him an extra day, but he demanded they release him the day before- nothing was going to make him miss the dedication for his son. He knew the doctors were just doing their jobs, but he felt better, especially after finding out who was behind the hit.

It was a blast from his past, a raid that went wrong and caused the death of the suspect, Whitey Brennan's, wife and infant grandson.

The day before Danny had cornered one of Whitey's sons, Rory, in the hospital and during a shoot out had killed him. It was discovered before that, that Rory had spoken to the driver, Diego, five times the day of the shooting, making him a pretty strong suspect in the shooting against the commissioner. It made the Reagan family and Noelle breathe easier knowing Frank was safe now, and now the day could be about remembering Joe.

"Probably." Jamie answered her previous question about his family. He swung the car into the first available parking space. "We're cutting it pretty close, so we're probably going to be the last ones here."

"Well that's your fault." She said jokingly as she pointed a finger over at him.

"How is it my fault?" He laughed as he looked over at her and turned the car off.

"You put on the uniform." She exclaimed as she gestured toward his dark blue dress uniform, the kind most police officers wore during ceremonial functions and events. "You know what that does to me." She added as she raised her eyebrows at him.

The two knew they were on a time limit earlier, which is why he avoided the bathroom while she was in it so he wouldn't be tempted to join her. He was then tempted a second time when she left the bathroom with only a white towel wrapped around her body minutes later.

She had come to a stop in front of him in the hallway, her dark hair wet causing beads of water to slide down her shoulders and back. He watch one drop of water trickle down her chest toward her breast before the towel soaked it up. He swallowed hard and had to force himself not to reach out to her and remove the towel to run his fingers in the trails that the water droplets made.

Not knowing what she was doing to him- or maybe she did, he honestly didn't know; she gave him a shy smile then raised up on her tiptoes to kiss him, but he moved his head to give her a peck on the cheek before fleeing into the bathroom to shower.

By the time he made it out, she had dried her hair and had it pinned back, and was now in front of the mirror, in that tempting short towel, applying her make-up. Her mouth slightly dropped open, the tube of eyeshadow quickly forgotten, when he walked into the room with a dark towel around his waist and absentmindedly drying his hair with another towel- she briefly wondered if he was trying to get back at her.

She bit her bottom lip and pulled her gaze away, continuing to add the shadow to her eyelids. After she finished putting on all the eye make-up and brushed on some blush on her cheeks, she allowed herself to check him out through the mirror again, seeing him button the dark pants he had on. When she saw him slip on the button down shirt, she couldn't stop herself from standing up from the small bench in front of the mirror and cross the floor over to him.

He looked down at her with a surprised look on his face, when she jerked the shirt off of him and pulled his face toward hers before capturing his lips. He grinned in the middle of the kiss, then reached out to finally unwrap that towel around her body, hearing it fall to the floor near their feet.

He removed the clip from her hair, his fingers intertwining in her long locks as the two fell on to the bed, the time quickly slipping from their minds as they got lost in each other. Now here they were running a few minutes late meeting his family as they made their way across the parking lot hand in hand with identically smiles on their faces.

Remembering what she said earlier, he glanced over at her before saying,"You know, I actually think this is your fault."

"How is being late my fault?" Noelle laughed. "We already discussed it's your fault for putting on the uniform."

"No, you discussed that." Jamie said back. "But really, you started it when you walked out of the bathroom with that short towel. It was hard to resist that."

"But you did." She pointed out. "You rushed right to the bathroom to take a shower."

"To take a cold shower." He admitted, causing her to laugh when he shot her a grin. While they joked around, he couldn't help but feel grateful for it since it briefly took his mind off of everything. Between the dedication and his father being shot, it brought back a lot of memories of losing Joe- memories he wasn't prepared to revisit today.

"Hm. I guess the towel did it's job then." She joked as she heard her phone beep with a new text message. She breathed out an apology as she reached into her bag to grab the noisy device, she thought she had turned it off earlier.

"Is it work?" Jamie questioned as she read the message.

"No, Spencer." Noelle answered while she quickly typed out a reply and sent a text back.

"You didn't tell him about today?" He asked, then silently cursed himself for sounding jealous. It actually wasn't that big of a deal that she got a text from him on the day of his brother's dedication. He knew when the time came to go inside she would turn her phone off and be present in the moment.

"Yeah he knows. He's just bored I guess." She shrugged. He was thankful that she didn't pick up on his jealous tone earlier. "He did say they are releasing him in a couple of days, so that's good." She added as she read the next text he sent her.

"What is he gonna do when he gets out? Go back to Florida?" He asked as he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"No. He says he's gonna hang out here for a bit and help look for Jimmie." She said, texting him back.

"We're looking for Jimmie." He pointed out, trying not to take offense. Normally he didn't mind the extra help and he knew when it came to Jimmie they needed all the help they could get, but his jealousy was getting to him.

"I know, honey." Turning her phone off, then raised her head to look at him, before adding,"But it never hurts to have another set of eyes. Besides, Spence has information on Jimmie from last time- like a profile that might could help."

Jamie nodded his head, deep down he knew she was right. At the end of the day, all that mattered was protecting her and capturing Jimmie. "Where's he staying?" He questioned.

"Actually, now that you mention it..." Noelle began to say as the two came to a stop near the front of the building. She had the idea to invite Spencer to stay with her- she felt to blame for him getting stabbed anyways, if it hadn't been for her he wouldn't even have come to the city. Besides he was a friend and she hated the thought of him staying in a hotel alone while he was recovering, but she felt like this was something she should run pass her boyfriend first.

She opened her mouth to explain to him her thoughts on the matter, but before she could say another word, they heard someone call out their names, causing them to turn their heads and seeing his family- minus Danny, waving them over. All previous talk was forgotten as the couple walked over to his family and a chorus of hellos rang out and hugs were going around.

"Where's Danny?" Jamie questioned, noticing his brother was missing from the group.

"He's checking on the nurse who was wounded." Linda answered, referring to the nurse who was at the wrong place at the wrong time during the shootout with Rory. "He's meeting us here."

"Should we head in?" Erin suggested as she motioned toward the entrance of the building, earning a nod from everyone as they all began to slowly walk with the rest of the crowd.

Noelle hung back for a moment, a soft smile on her lips as she watched Jamie walking with his nephews and niece- all three excitedly talking to their uncle. From the far away look on her boyfriend's face mixed with the pain in his eyes, she had a feeling they were asking him for stories about their other uncle Joe.

Feeling someone lay a hand on her back, she turned her head, her smile widen when she saw it was Frank. She turned to give him a hug and ask how he was feeling. She was a little concern not seeing him with the sling on his arm, but he reassured her he was okay.

The two began to walk side by side silently until they were nearing the front steps, then while staring straight ahead, Frank asked,"How are you doing?"

Noelle came to a stop, her eyes on him as his steps faltered and he turned to face her. She could tell by his expression that he knew the whole story now- he knew about Jimmie.

"Who told you?" She questioned, assuming one of the family members told him.

"I thought it was weird how Pop was hovering around you the other day at the hospital, so I asked, and he told me." Frank explained.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Frank." She softly said, worried she had hurt his feelings for not opening up to him before. "I wanted to, so many times, but it was only recently I felt brave enough to even talk about it, and then you were shot-"

He held up a hand to stop her excuse, then said,"You don't have to explain. You forget I know you, Noelle, and I knew whatever happened to you, you would talk when you felt ready."

"So, you're not mad?" She questioned with a hopeful look on her face.

"Not at you." He answered as he patted her arm, causing her to smile. "Now, I don't want you to worry about this, I'm confident we'll find him. Especially since I issued a APB, now all of my men are on the lookout for him."

"Frank, you didn't- you didn't have to do that." She said with a shake of the head. "You didn't have to do me any favors." She knew he wasn't the type to show favoritism with his family or loved ones, and she would feel bad if she was the cause of him doing that now.

"You know I would never use my position of power for favors, but as family we do protect our own, and you are family, Noelle." He pointed out. "But, as luck would have it, as soon as he left Florida he was in violation of his parole."

"But we can't prove he is here, it can be argued that it's just a copycat after me or just some random person who has nothing to do with Jimmie." She said with a helpless shrug.

"They could argue that..." Frank began to say with a nod. He flashed her a smile before adding,"If we didn't have him on camera buying a ticket weeks ago using his deceased brother's ID and then boarding the bus hours later bound for New York."

"We got him?" Noelle questioned as tears filled her eyes.

"We got him." He repeated with a nod- granted they haven't found him yet, but as soon as they did, he would be shipped back to Florida and out of her life.

"Thank you." She breathed out, before rushing toward him and wrapping her arms around him- the force knocking him back slightly and causing him to let out a grunt as she accidentally hit his tender wound.

Realizing what she had done, she quickly stepped back and laid her hands over her mouth with a gasp. She shook her head, then lowered them as she quickly apologized for hurting him. He shook the apology away, telling her it was okay as they heard his cell phone ringing.

She thanked him again, then began to back away from him, giving him privacy to answer the call. She turned, a huge smile on her face as she looked for Jamie to give him the great news and saw him talking to Henry. She went to take a step toward him until she saw something that truly brightened her day; her parents.

"Dad? Mom?" Noelle asked with a surprised look on her face as they got closer to her. She knew they had been invited to the dedication, but with her mother's health they usually turned most invites down- yet here they were; her father in his dress uniform and her mother in a dark color dress looking as beautiful as ever.

She gave them both a hug and spoke to them briefly, then stood by her father as her mother walked over toward the Reagan family- all of them excited to see her; for some this was the first time they had seen Evie in a while. Henry was quick to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, while the kids gathered around her and gave her a group hug, causing her to laugh out loud as she held them close and dropped several kisses on the top of their heads.

"How is she doing today?" Noelle asked her father as they watched Evie have a lively conversation with Erin and Linda.

"It's a good day." Byron said, a smile on his face as he watched his wife. "She really wanted to be here today."

"Good." Noelle said with a small nod, feeling conflicted. On one hand, she was excited seeing her mother having a good day and getting out of the house, but on the other hand...

A worried look appeared on her face as she looked over at her dad, speaking her thoughts out loud,"Is this gonna be too hard for her?"

"I hope not, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She said it was important to be here today for Joe." He shot her a look, before playfully adding,"Plus, I dunno if you knew this or not, but you Kelley women are stubborn as all hell."

"No." Noelle said sarcastically, dragging out the word, causing them both to laugh.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her toward him as he kissed the side of her head, then said,"Don't worry, bitty bug, there's enough out there to stress us, so let's enjoy a good day while we have one."

"Sounds like a great idea." She said, smiling over at her father.

He was right, there was enough to worry about. Most days she woke up wound so tight she was worried she would snap, there was so much on her mind- so much that worried her and terrified her, but here they all were together for Joe; a fact that sadden them all, but being together as a unit and a family, made them all feel stronger than ever.

•••

Minutes later, the two families, along with the rest of the crowd, made their way inside. Noelle was walking behind her parents with Jamie beside her, his hand wrapped around hers for comfort and support. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the rest of the Reagan family walking along behind them- well most of the Reagan's, Danny was still missing.

"Where's Danny?" Noelle whispered over to her boyfriend, getting a shrug in reply.

"Maybe he hit some traffic leaving the hospital." Jamie guessed, his tone matching hers.

She nodded her head, thinking that could be the reason, then said,"I hope he makes it here in time."

"I'm sure he will." He said back, giving her hand a light squeeze before the two sat down in the front row- her parents on the other side of her, while his family began to sit down beside him.

After everyone was seated, they saw a man step up to the podium to make a small speech before introducing Frank. The man was in the middle of speaking when Jamie's phone began to buzz in his pocket.

Noelle turned her head to look at him as he pulled the phone out. He looked at the caller ID, seeing it was Danny calling him, then flashed the phone at her- causing her to lower her eyebrows in confusion, wondering why Danny was calling and why he still wasn't there yet.

"Kid, hey, listen to me." Danny said over the phone.

"What?" Jamie whispered, aware that his girlfriend was watching him, the concern look still present on her face.

"I think the shooter's there." Danny said as he walked as fast as he could from the hospital and to his parked car.

"Where? Here?" Jamie asked while he stood up from his chair, his eyes scanning the crowd.

As Danny began to describe Kevin Brennan- the other brother, he felt Noelle grab his hand, causing him to look down at her. He knew from the look on her face that she had several questions for him, unfortunately he didn't have time to answer them, he had to find the shooter.

He lightly rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand before dropping it and mouthing for her to stay put. She regrettably gave him a short nod, then watched him walk down the aisle, his eyes looking for a six-foot man with brown hair and a limp.

Noelle turned back toward the front of the room as Frank began his speech. Feeling eyes on her, she turned her head, seeing her father looking at her with raised eyebrows, wondering what was going on. She gave him a shrug, she was just as confused as he was.

Byron gave her nod, letting her know he would find out, then gave his wife a peck on the cheek before he stood from his seat and made his way down the aisle and over to Jamie.

"Hey, Jamie, everything okay?" Byron asked as he came to a stop beside the youngest Reagan.

Jamie shook his head,"The shooter is here."

"Where?" Byron asked, quickly slipping back into cop mode as his eyes began scanning the crowd.

"I don't know." Jamie answered. "But his name is Kevin Brennan-"

"Brennan?" Byron questioned. "As in Whitey's son?"

When Jamie nodded his head to answer, the older man quietly swore to himself. He remembered the raid years ago to arrest Whitey and how he lost his wife and grandson; that day had always haunted him.

"What does he look like now?" He questioned; he hadn't seen Kevin since he was a young boy.

Jamie repeated the description Danny gave him, then the older man nodded toward one side, telling Jamie he would take that side, while he takes the other side of the room. The two split up, moving slowly enough not to worry the crowd, but fast enough so they could hopefully find Kevin before the unthinkable happens.

Spying a man fitting the description on the stairs, Jamie began to walk toward him, his footsteps quickening when he saw the man reach into his coat then turn to walk back up the stairs. Jamie took the stairs as fast as he could, coming up behind the man as he stepped off of them.

"Kevin Brennan?" Jamie questioned as he grabbed the man's arm.

"No, sorry. I have to take this." The man said, pulling out a cell phone from inside his coat, causing Jamie to breathe a sigh of relief when he realized it wasn't a gun.

He released the man's arm, his relief short-lived once he realized it meant Kevin was still somewhere in the building planning to shoot his father again- not to mention all the innocent bystanders who could get hurt in the process or any of his other family members, as well as, the woman he loves.

Laying his hands on the railing, he looked down at the crowd below him, looking for Kevin and caught Noelle's eyes from the first row when she turned her head to look for him in the crowd. Even from this distance he could see the worried look on her face.

He gave her a short nod, hoping that would help ease her mind, before he pushed back from the railing and began to walk through the small crowd standing around as he made his way back toward the stairs he just run up.

He walked halfway down them, his eyes glancing around the room, until he saw Danny arrive and stand where he was earlier. He saw the question on his face, wondering if he had located Kevin yet, but Jamie gave him a shrug back, letting him know he hadn't found him.

Danny looked down over the railing, his eyes landing on Byron; who nodded his head toward the stairs where Jamie was standing. On the set of stairs beside him, Danny's eyes landed on a man dressed in all black with a white clerical collar and black hat covering his brown hair. When he turned his head slightly, Danny got a good look at his face and recognized him as Kevin Brennan.

He pointed over to the man, letting Jamie know he has been located, and saw him nod his head in understanding. Jamie began to quickly jog down the stairs then began to run up the other ones with Byron coming up behind him and Danny going down the stairs; the three planning to cut him off.

They saw him begin to pull a gun out, but Jamie and Byron each grabbed an arm as Danny grabbed the gun from his hand, then reached for his handcuffs to slap on his wrists.

As Frank finished his speech and the crowd began to clap, several more cops came down the stairs and Danny passed Kevin off to them as they began to lead him out of the building without anyone noticing.

Danny shook Byron's hand, thanking him for his help, then gave his brother a quick pat on the shoulder, telling him good job. He looked down at the stage, seeing Frank looking up at them wondering if everything was okay. Danny gave him a nod in answer, seeing a proud look appear on his face, while Jamie looked over at his girlfriend to give her a smile- letting her know everything was fine now.

As the crowd continued to applaud, the three men stood on the steps clapping with them. The brothers stood side by side, while Byron stood on the step in front of them; all three were relieved they were able to stop Kevin before he could fire off a shot. The crowd below them never knew how close they came to witnessing a tragedy, but now the day could get back to celebrating Joe, like it was supposed to be all along.

•••

Close to an hour later, after pictures were taken and talking to several different people, Noelle and Jamie made their way outside as the crowd began to leave the building. The couple walked off to the side to talk privately, Jamie had a feeling he knew what the first words out of her mouth would be and he was right.

"So what happened in their earlier?"

"When Danny called, he told me the shooter was there."

"What?" Noelle questioned with wide eyes. "I thought Whitey's son was the killer and Danny shot him at the hospital?"

"He did." Jamie answered. "But his other son was in on it too."

"Wow." She breathed out with a short shake of the head. She couldn't believe all of that was going on and none of them even knew it. She turned her head to look at Jamie and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Are you okay?"

"Almost." He answered as he wrapped his arms around her as well. When she shot him a concern look, worried something else was wrong, he lowered his face toward hers to press his lips against her for a soft kiss. He rested his forehead against hers as he whispered,"Now I'm okay."

A chuckle escaped her lips as he began to kiss her again, until they heard a pair of footsteps coming toward them, followed by someone clearing their throat. The two pulled back to see her father standing in front of them, his arm wrapped around her mother; who had a huge smile on her face as she watched the couple.

"We're sorry to interrupt, but I'm feeling a bit tired, so we're going to head home." Evie explained.

"I'm glad you came, Mom." Noelle said, stepping forward to hug her mother. "I'm sure the others appreciate it too."

"We do." Jamie said, referring to himself and his family. He looked over at Byron, giving him a nod,"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Byron said back, knowing he was thanking him for his help earlier as well, but didn't want to mention that in front of Evie and risk worrying her unnecessarily.

"It was a beautiful dedication." Evie said, hugging Jamie. Giving his back a soft pat, she added,"I have no doubt Joe is smiling down on us. He would be proud of you all."

"Thank you." Jamie muttered, his eyes watering at her words as he hugged her back.

She pulled back to look at him, laying her hands on either side of his face- making him miss having that motherly touch. "He would especially be proud of you, Jamie. You have really grown up to be a great boy- so smart and brave, just like I always knew you be."

She brushed away a lone tear from his cheek- one he didn't even notice had fallen. With a soft tone, she added,"Your mother would be proud too."

He gave her a smile then leaned forward to give her another hug to thank her again before pulling back. She gave him a nod, then laid a hand on his arm, giving it a small squeeze,"Now, you take care of my little girl, okay?"

"I promise." Jamie said, turning his head to the side to look at Noelle for a moment and saw her face light up as she spoke to her father.

This was the Noelle he had grew up; the one who didn't have a care in the world, the one who didn't have terrifying nightmares or had to look over her shoulders all the time. The one with her eyes shining bright and a wide smile on her face.

This was the Noelle he fell in love with so many years ago and the one he was still madly in love with- the one he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"I know what that look means." Evie stated, getting his attention. It wasn't hard to see the love he has for her daughter.

"What look?" Jamie asked, playing dumb.

"You know what look." She said back with raised eyebrows, letting him know she wasn't going to be fooled. "A little advice; tell her."

"You don't think it's too soon?" He questioned her, speaking out loud a fear that plagued him. He worried about coming on too strong too soon and scaring her off.

"For you two? Never." She answered. "The feelings have been there since you two were kids. I saw it back then just like I do now. So tell her, then tell her again and never stop telling her, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jamie said, flashing her a smile.

"Attaboy." Evie gave him a light tap on his cheek as her husband stepped forward to stand beside her.

"So, should we talk about the elephant in the room?" Byron asked, turning his attention to the couple and referring to the fact that the two were dating now.

"We can." Noelle shrugged. "His name is Stampy and he's a little shy about his weight." She added sarcastically, causing her boyfriend and mother to laugh- her father, however, was not amused.

"You're not too old for me to ground, young lady." He playfully warned. Turning his attention to Jamie, he added,"So, you're dating my daughter now."

"Yes, sir." Jamie said, glancing over at Noelle and shooting her a smile.

"Good." Byron smiled and held out a hand. As Jamie grabbed his hand and the two began to shake hands, he added,"I always liked you best."

"Thanks, sir." Jamie said, smiling back at the older man.

As he went to pull his hand away, Byron held onto it and pulled it back toward him as he warned,"But if you hurt her, I know how to get rid of you and not get caught. I still have friends in high places."

"Dad!" Noelle exclaimed as she shot her father a look.

"Byron, leave the kids alone." Evie laughed over at her husband. "You know he'll take care of our little girl. He always has."

"Just a friendly warning." Byron explained as he released Jamie's hand.

"Yeah, it really looked friendly, Dad." Noelle chuckled, feeling Jamie wrap an arm around her waist.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry, I'm not planning on letting this one go." Jamie said, turning his head to smile at his girlfriend.

"That's what we love to hear, son." Byron said as he reached out to pat Jamie's shoulder in acceptance.

As the small group laughed and joked around, none of them noticed a lone figuring across the street hidden in the shadows.

Jimmie watched as her parents basically welcomed Jamie with open arms and couldn't help but imagine it was him standing there by Noelle's side- his arm around her waist, her body pressed against his side as he dropped a kiss on top of her head.

In his mind, he imagined her mother would smile at him and talk about how happy she was they were together- she would want to know when they were getting married and give her grandbabies. He would smile at the older woman and promise her it would happen soon. Her father would be the one patting him on the shoulder and giving him playful warnings, maybe even calling him an endearing name; like buddy, sport or son. He would laugh along with the older man and jokingly call him dad.

He could let the scene in front of him cause him to be angry, and at first he was, until he reminded himself that he had to remain calm. She was his, they were meant to be and he knew it, the voices had told him time and again. She was just confused right now, the other man in her life- this Jamie guy, had her confused and was manipulating her. He had no doubt she wanted to escape him, but didn't know how.

He needed a how though, he would come up with a how because he needed a way to save her and he would- he would be her hero. Once he did, once he saved her, the two would be together; he had a plan to ensure the two would never be apart again.

He had no doubt that one day soon she would be his again- this time forever.

•••

 _A/N; Hey all! Sorry it took so long to get out a chapter wrote and posted. I had some stuff going on and it was hard to concentrate to write, so I took a small break. I hope I haven't lost any of you._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to jlmayer, BLBLF, Daniel Reagan, Guest, lilnightmare17, werks, Beth, xoxo, Sage Londyn, mcgeeksgirl, Guest, Guest, High Gaurdian and Eddie Reagan for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	23. An Awkward Exchange

**23; An Awkward Exchange**

A couple of days later, Noelle was driving down the road, carefully navigating her SUV in the heavy city traffic as she drove toward her apartment with Spencer sitting beside her. She lightly tapped the brakes, coming to a stop behind a taxi cab, and nervously chewed on her bottom lip as her mind began to wander.

While the car idled for several minutes, Spencer glanced out the passenger window at the cars surrounding them, then turned his head to look out the windshield, spying several more cars.

He let out a low whistle. "Damn, I thought I-275 was bad."

"Mm-hm." She hummed, not really listening to him.

Realizing his comment had been ignored, he turned his head to look at her, seeing that something was weighing heavily on her mind. "You know, if I had my car, we could just use the siren." He said. He would never use his lights or siren to get through traffic, he just wanted a reaction out of her.

When that didn't work, he joked,"Or I could just hit that special button under the dash and make the wings come out on the car and fly over everyone."

As she remained silent, he let out a sigh, then added,"Okay, Elle, out with it."

"What?" She questioned as she blinked and came out of a daze. Turning to look at him, she asked,"Wait, did you just say something about a flying car?"

"So you were listening." He chuckled. He saw her nod her head, a small smile appeared on her face, but he could tell it wasn't a genuine one.

"Seriously, Elle, what's going on?" He questioned. "I don't want to be that guy, the one who thinks you're all tore up over me, so tell me what is going on. Don't make me turn into that conceited and cocky guy-"

"What are you talking about?" She cut him off with a laugh. Seeing the car in front of her begin to move, she moved her foot to the gas pedal and lightly pressed down, causing the car to roll down the road. Glancing over at him for a moment before looking back in front of her, she added,"You love being conceited and cocky."

"True, but still, talk to me. Tell me what is going through that beautiful head of yours." He said, laying his head back against the headrest and turning it slightly to look at her.

She slowly shook her head, a small puff of air escaped her lips, before she mumbled,"The better question is- what's not going through my head." She glanced at him for a moment before looking back at the traffic, hitting the brakes when the taxi in front of her came to a quick stop.

"You're here and you're hurt... by God knows who. Maybe someone who's working with Jimmie, who knows-"

"Or it was random." He interrupted her. He knew she was right, there was a chance this was tied to Jimmie- and frankly; he didn't believe in coincidences, but he didn't want to give her something else to freak out about.

She shot him a quick look, letting him know she didn't really believe that and knew he didn't either. "Okay, fine, you want to go that route- maybe it was random, but the fact remains, you were stabbed Spence."

"So? You think this is the first time I ended up in a hospital?" He questioned with a shrug. "Growing up, the local hospital knew me by first name I was in it so much. If I was on anything with wheels; skateboard, dirt bike, four wheelers..." As he named each one he held up a finger, counting off each one, before adding,"You name it, I crashed it. I was constantly covered in bruises and cuts." He motioned toward his injured side, then said,"This is just another scar."

"Don't do that." Noelle said with a shake of the head. She looked over at him, a concern look on her face,"Don't try to brush this off like it's no big deal."

"It's not." Spencer stated.

"But it is!" She argued. "Spence, you came here for me- to help me and it almost got you killed. This is my fault!"

"Hey..." He sat up and turned slightly in the seat to look at her. "What is it that you always tell me? Huh?"

He didn't wait for her to answer as he continued,"How many times have you told me that everything that happened to you is not my fault? Now I'm saying the same to you." He paused for a moment, waiting for her to look at him, but when she didn't, he lightly grabbed her chin, turning her head toward him.

"This is not your fault, Elle. I choose to come here, I'm choosing to keep my promise to you, and I will protect you with my life- that is all my choice and I'll choose it over and over again."

"Did you ever think it's just not worth it? That I'm not worth it?" She quietly questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. In her opinion he had a good life before she came into it and ruined everything.

"Not for a minute." He said, his tone matching hers as he slowly shook his head, his hazel eyes staring into her dark brown ones.

Her breath caught in her throat at the look he was giving her. Misunderstanding the look, her eyebrows lowered in concern as she softly said,"You still blame yourself."

"What?" He asked in confusion as he leaned back against the passenger door.

"That's why this case- why I'm so important to you... you still feel bad about everything that happened." She explained. "You're obsessed with fixing things."

"Yeah, yeah, that's it." He lied as he nodded his head. He would rather her believe that, then the real reason he was consumed with the need to protect her. He never wanted her to know his real feelings.

Deciding to downplay what he felt, he added,"Well, that, and you're my friend, Elle. And in my line of work, I don't have many I can call friend- so once someone becomes that important to me, there's nothing I wouldn't do for them."

"I feel the same way about my friends too." She said with a smile. As the traffic began to move again, so did she, while adding,"Although growing up, I didn't have many friends. Basically just Jamie... well his siblings too, but mostly just him, which was okay because he was all I needed."

A genuine smile appeared on her face as her past with Jamie flooded her mind. She never had to worry about handling anything on her own because he always had her back, just like she always had his. He was always loyal to her, putting her above everyone else. She could always trust him because he had always been honest with her.

As that thought crossed her mind, her smile faded as she felt like she was deceiving him by not telling him about Spencer staying at her place.

It's not that she was trying to keep it from him. She wanted to tell him, she had every intention of telling him the day of the dedication, but then the shooter showed up and it honestly slipped her mind to bring it up. Then between their work schedules the past few days, she never had a chance to run the idea past him, and it wasn't something she wanted to bring up over the phone.

Next thing she knew, Spencer was being released from the hospital and she was now driving him to her apartment.

"Okay, now, what is that look for?" He questioned when he saw her face fall.

She opened her mouth to say nothing, until he shot her a look, causing her to sigh, before saying,"I just feel a little bad."

"About?" Spencer asked confused, wondering what she could be feeling bad about since none of this was her fault.

"I haven't told Jamie." Noelle breathed out as she nervously tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She glanced over at him for a moment, seeing he was still confused, causing her to add,"I haven't told him you're staying with me."

"Oh." He said with a surprised look. She had told him countless of stories in Florida about their friendship and how close they were, then recently she told him about how the two were finally together- something he honestly wasn't surprised to hear.

It was clear to see how much she loved her childhood best friend, which was why he wasn't dumb enough to make a pass at her, he knew he never stood a chance. He could almost be heartbroken at hearing they were a couple now, if it wasn't for seeing how happy it made her, which was all he really wanted.

He turned his head for a moment to look at her as she turned on the turn signal then turned down a less crowded road that would take them to her apartment building. As a new song began to softly play, he saw her slightly move side to side in her seat as she mouthed the words to the song, something he had seen her do a few times before when they hung out during her time in Florida. He breathed out a chuckle with a short shake of the head before he turned to look out the windshield.

He reached up to run a hand over his hair, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he silently admitted to himself that maybe he was a little heartbroken.

It might be a little cliché to say, but she was honestly his dream girl- the one he made up in his head when he was younger and assumed no one would come close to it, that's what protected him growing up. He could never fall or get hurt if his dream girl didn't really exist, but then he met Noelle.

"You know, I can always go to a hotel if there's gonna be a problem." Spencer pointed out, pushing out any thoughts of her that were more than friendly.

"No, absolutely not." Noelle argued as she glanced over at him for a moment before looking back at the road. "Besides, there is not gonna be a problem. I mean, why would there be? We're friends and Jamie knows that..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, before she quietly added,"I just hate keeping things from him- even if it is unintentional, it still feels dishonest, you know?"

"See, this is why I just have one night stands." He joked, playing the role of the happy playboy bachelor, causing her to playfully roll her eyes. Growing serious, he added,"As long as you think it's okay, but honestly, I don't mind staying at a hotel."

"It is okay." She said, flashing him a smile and hoping her words were true.

•••

Minutes later, she parked the vehicle near her building and offered to help Spencer out of the car- which he shrugged off with a chuckle, telling her he wasn't a child and he could walk on his own.

"Oh, I forgot Superman can heal fast and needs no help at all." Noelle said sarcastically while two entered the building and walked toward the door to her apartment.

"That's right, sweetheart, and don't you forget it." Spencer joked back as he watched her playfully roll her eyes as she unlocked the door, then ushered him inside.

He glanced around as he walked further inside, feeling a sense of déjà vu, the place was basically set up like her place in Florida, the only difference was the scenery outside. There was no salty breezes or sounds of seagulls, and instead of palm trees outside the windows, there were tall buildings. That's not to say there was nothing good about New York; he just hasn't had a chance to explore it much while being in the hospital with a stab wound.

He could already think of one great thing about the city as he glanced over his shoulder to his brunette friend as she shut the door and clicked all the locks in place. She turned to face him as he turned his head back and walked over toward the windows, checking the locks out of habit.

"Well, this is it." She stated as she placed her hands on her hips. She saw him looking around the small living room again, taking in the soft neutral colors. The walls were an off-white color, except the one he was standing in front of- that one was made of brick and had the three windows he just checked. The room was small, but she had decorated it in a way where you didn't feel cramped- it felt spacious and it felt homey.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a spare room. So you'll have to sleep on the couch." She explained while motioning toward the dark grey couch which looked more comfortable than his bed back home.

"It's fine." He assured her as he dropped his duffel bag on the floor near his new bed for the next few weeks until he saw Jimmie in handcuffs personally. Pointing toward the bag, he asked."Is it cool to leave that there?"

"Yeah, it's okay." She nodded. "Now, I know it's not much and you can't see the beach like at your place, but I have a solution to that." She began to say, getting back on the subject of her apartment.

When he shot her confused look, wondering what she meant, she held up a finger, telling him to hold on. She walked across the room and disappeared behind a door, going into what he would guess was the kitchen, then reappeared a couple of minutes later holding a big potted palm tree.

He laughed out loud, placing a hand on his side when he felt a pain from the stab wound. He knew he shouldn't be laughing as hard as he was, but it was hard not to as he watched her struggle to carry the plant across the room since it was almost as big as she was. She finally dropped it with a grunt after a few steps inside the room, then pushed it across the hardwood floor with her foot toward the nearest corner.

"There!" She exclaimed as she clapped her hands once while slightly out of breath. "Good, right?" She questioned as she flashed him a smile.

"Very, good. Thanks." He chuckled. "Almost like home."

"Right, almost, which is why I also got this." She said, walking over to the couch to grab a small shopping bag he hadn't even noticed before from under the coffee table. She reached inside and pulled out a small portable sound machine.

She switched it on and sat it down on the coffee table, causing him to smile when he began to hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach- a sound he heard nightly from his room back home.

He gave her a nod in thanks, then open his mouth to comment, but before he could say a word, he heard a scratching noise coming from the hall, causing him to jump to attention and reached for his gun until he realized he didn't have it anymore after laying it on his sergeant's desk days ago.

"What is that?" Spencer questioned as he moved closer to her. He was about to push her behind him just in case, until she laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's Daisy."

"Daisy?" He asked confused.

"My dog. I lock her in the bathroom when I leave." She explained as she began to walk toward the hallway. It only took one time after arriving home from work and finding a trail of trash from the kitchen to the living room, as well as, a few chewed up shoes to realize it was probably better to lock the puppy up while she was gone.

"I didn't know you had a dog." He commented. He knew she didn't have one in Florida, even though she had mentioned more than once that she wanted one.

He remembered one time borrowing a dog from one of his fellow officers and invited Noelle to go to a dog park with them not long after she was released from the hospital. He was hoping the activity would take her mind off of what happened with Jimmie.

He'll never forget the smile on her face or the sound of her laughter as she played fetch with the dog. He would like to think that day was a glimpse of the old Noelle- the one before Jimmie's obsession started and she began to fear for her life.

"I didn't until recently." She called out as she made her way down the short hall to the bathroom, Daisy's whine getting louder as she heard her owner getting closer. "Jamie gave her to me, he wanted me to be protected."

"Ah! Good boyfriend." He stated with a nod of the head. It actually pleased him to know that her boyfriend was taking extra steps to protect her and make her happy.

She nodded her head in agreement even though he couldn't see her, then reached out to open the bathroom door and laughed out loud when the dog came running toward her with her tail wagging excitedly and her tongue hanging out.

Noelle spoke to the dog as she bent over to pet her, then wrinkled her nose and began to laugh again when Daisy started licking her face. She raised her head, seeing Spencer at the end of the hall watching them with a smile on his face- just like that day at the dog park, he was getting a glimpse of the old Noelle.

Noticing someone new, Daisy turned her head toward Spencer then looked back at her owner as if needing confirmation that the new person was safe. Noelle nodded her head, giving the dog a quick scratch behind her ear,"It's okay, girl. He's okay."

After her comment, Daisy let out a soft bark, then charged down the hall toward Spencer and ignoring Noelle who called out for her to slow down. The dog skid to a stop in front of Spencer and stood up on her hind legs to place her front paws on his stomach, wanting to shower him with licks and get all the pets she can get from him. He gave her a scratch behind the ears, then let out of a groan when one of her paws accidentally hit the wound on his side.

"Daisy, no, get down." Noelle said as she approached them and grabbed the collar around her neck to pull her back. "Are you okay?" She questioned Spencer with a concern look.

"I'm fine. She didn't mean to."

She gave him a small smile, hoping that he was being honest about feeling okay. She gave the dog a pet as she said,"Well, I think it's safe to say that Daisy likes you."

"What can I say, bitches love me." He winked. When she shot him a look and playfully rolled her eyes, he chuckled,"Sorry, lame joke."

"Maybe I should take you back to the hospital." Noelle suggested.

"Why?" Spencer asked confused. "I told you I'm fine, she didn't hurt me."

"No, I know, but after that corny joke, you definitely need professional help." She teased.

"You know, I don't know if I like this version of you." He said, trying to hold back a smirk. "The one who makes fun of an injured man. Very cold, Elle."

"Oh please. You just hate knowing someone is funnier than you." She said as she stuck her tongue out at him while walking past him to go into the living room.

He shook his head and chuckled at her antics, his comment earlier couldn't be further from the truth. In all honestly, he loved this version of her- apparently being back in her home state and surrounded by loved ones was good for her.

As he turned to walk into the living room behind her, he saw her glance at the time, then start to walk toward the front door. She pointed toward the door across the room she had went into earlier, confirming his earlier thought when she told him that was where the kitchen was.

"If you're thirsty or whatever, just help yourself to anything. I need to take Daisy out, then meet Jamie for lunch." She began to say. Since the two were so busy the last couple of days they made plans to meet during his short break before his second tour begin, which was also when she planned to tell him about Spencer. "I can bring you something back if you want."

"Nah, I'm good." A concern look appeared on his face as he added,"Are you sure it's a good idea to take the dog out on your own though?"

"Yeah, there's a small fenced in area out back." She explained. "There's a few other people in the building with dogs so there is usually someone out there."

"Good to know, but still be careful. Be aware of your surroundings and-"

"I know." She interrupted with a nod, having heard all of that before from him, as well as, Jamie and the other Reagan family members. She slipped a jacket on and zipped it up, then reached into one of the pockets to pull out a can of mace.

She held it up for him to see as she added,"I'm always protected."

"That's my girl." He winked. He hated that she had to take the precautions, but glad to see that she was. His wish was that one day she would be able to walk around without having to constantly look over her shoulders and he was gonna do whatever he could to make that wish come true. He wouldn't rest until Jimmie was out of her life for good.

When he heard the front door close after she walked out, he shook his head, pushing the anger and guilt he felt aside. If she knew he was still beating himself up when it came to her and Jimmie, she would just tell him he wasn't at fault, and he knew the anger would get him nowhere; to catch Jimmie he had to be calm and levelheaded. He knew what Jimmie's end game was, but he would be damned if he ever let that happen.

He would find him, he would capture him and he would stop him no matter what.

•••

While Noelle was out with the dog, Spencer decided to take a quick shower after being stuck in a hospital for the last few days. Afterwards, he wrapped a towel around his waist, feeling a little more like himself, then silently cursed himself when he realized he left his bag in the living room.

He poked his head out of the door and called for Noelle, planning to ask her to bring him the duffel bag, but when he didn't hear anything back, he figured that meant she was still outside with Daisy. He blew out a breath, realizing that meant he had to go grab the bag himself.

He walked out of the bathroom and began to walk down the hall until he heard the front door open, causing him to pause for a moment and wonder if he could make it back to the bathroom before she caught him in her hallway in only a towel. It's not that he minded being caught in the buff, he was actually proud of his body, but had a feeling it would make her uncomfortable, which was the last thing he wanted.

Before he could turn to walk back into the room, he heard footsteps coming toward the hall. Knowing it was too late and she was about catch him in the hall, he figured the best thing he could do was try to downplay the situation with a joke, hoping to make it less awkward.

A smirk appeared on his face as the person stepped in front of him, but it wasn't Noelle like he thought- it was a man a couple of inches shorter than him, with hair color similar to his. He had seen a picture or two of this man before and knew exactly who he was; it was Jamie.

Upon entering the apartment and hearing footsteps in the hall, Jamie headed over in that area, planning to surprise her, but he was the one in for a surprise when he saw a half-naked man in his girlfriend's hallway. He didn't even hesitate as he grabbed his gun and pointed it at the man.

"Police! Don't move!" He exclaimed.

Spencer kept one hand on the towel to keep it from falling as he raised his other hand, then said,"It's okay, man." Anyone else might have freaked out having a gun pointed at them, but honestly, this wasn't the first time he was held at gunpoint in his line of work.

"Who are you? Where's Noelle?" Jamie questioned with his heart beating in his chest. Before the man could answer, his eyes dropped down, noticing a wound on his side and began to put the pieces together. "Wait, are you Spencer? From Florida?"

"Yeah." Spencer stated. "I would show you proof, but my wallet got jacked the other day." He explained, leaving out the fact that he couldn't show him his badge either since he left that behind with his gun.

Giving Jamie a shrug and click of his tongue, he added,"I guess you'll just have to trust me."

Jamie kept the gun on him, feeling his jaw twitch as he lowered his eyebrows wondering why Noelle didn't tell him about her house guest. With everything going on lately, it would have been nice to have a heads up before coming face to face with a strange man coming out of her bathroom. How was he suppose to know it was her friend Spencer and not her worst nightmare Jimmie?

That was why he was annoyed at the moment, the fact that she didn't tell him, not a jealousy issue. At least that is what he told himself over and over again.

"So, are you gonna let me get dressed or are we gonna keep this standoff going?" Spencer asked, grabbing his attention.

"Sorry." Jamie mumbled as he finally lowered the gun and slipped it back in his holster. He opened his mouth, a million of questions running through his head; like why was he there? Where was his clothes? And where the hell was his girlfriend?

But before he could utter a word, they heard the front door open, followed by the sound of Daisy rushing into the apartment and Noelle's footsteps running after her.

"Okay, Spence, here comes a certain dirty girl who can't wait to pounce on you." Noelle called out, then lowered her eyebrows when she noticed he wasn't in the living room. She walked over to the kitchen door and peeked inside, seeing that it was empty as well.

Hearing a floorboard creak in the hallway, she turned to walk toward it, then felt her eyes widen when she saw Spencer standing there in only a towel, but the worst part was seeing her boyfriend standing there as well with an unreadable expression on his face.

Noelle looked between the two men a few times before setting her sights on Jamie. Remembering her comment before and how it could be taken, she stuttered out a few words, before saying,"No, no, I don't mean me... I don't- I'm not pouncing on anyone, I meant, Daisy... That's not, I mean, this isn't what it looks like, Jamie."

"It looks like a half-naked man coming out of your bathroom, Nol." He said back matter of fact.

She was silent for a moment, trying to read the look on his face and judge by his tone if he was pissed at her or not. She blew out a breath, before mumbling,"Okay, it's exactly how it looks then, but it's not what it sounds like."

"I think I'll go get dressed now." Spencer spoke up and wasn't surprised when neither one reacted- they were too busy staring each other down in silence. He excused himself as he walked past the couple to go into the living room to grab his bag, then excused himself again as he walked back down the hall and went into the bathroom.

The couple was quiet for a few more minutes as Jamie waited for her to say something. He opened his mouth, thinking he was going to have to break the silence first, until she finally spoke.

"I thought we were meeting at the restaurant for lunch."

"Seriously, Nol? Where we meet for lunch is the least of the problem here." Jamie said, before explaining,"But, if you really want to know- my break started a few minutes early, so I thought I would come by here and surprise you. I never thought I would be the one in for a surprise."

She nodded her head, knowing he was right, her comment didn't matter- she was just in shock and didn't know what else to say. This was not how she wanted the two men to meet.

She went to apologize, but before she could, they heard the bathroom door open before Spencer walked back out in the hall dressed in a pair of blue jeans and dark-colored t-shirt.

When the couple turned to look at him, he threw up his hands, before saying,"Don't mind me. I'm just gonna go into the living room... where things are less awkward." He made his way past them again, telling Jamie it was nice to meet him, causing him to nod his head and mumble the same words back.

Noelle lowered her head in silence, hearing Spencer turn on the television, then heard him call for Daisy to come sit with him. She knew Jamie deserved an explanation, but she couldn't get her voice to work, and instead heard the television flip through different channels as Spencer grumbled about there was nothing good to watch and this was why he hated television to Daisy.

"Nol..." Jamie softly said, waiting for her to look at him.

Raising her head, she saw the hurt on his face, and felt her heart break. She felt like she just got caught doing something bad, and in a way, she guessed she did- she had lied to him. She could argue that technically she didn't lie, she just didn't tell him, but that was just as bad in her opinion.

"I'm sorry." Noelle breathed out. "I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry."

"I'm gonna need you to say a little more than that, Noelle." He said, causing her heart to drop at him using her name instead of the nickname. She knew he usually only did that when he was angry at her. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I was going to tell you. I swear I was!" She exclaimed as she took a step toward him. "But there wasn't time-"

"It's been days." He cut her off. "You've had days to tell me."

"I know, but this is the first I have seen you, Jamie. I didn't want to tell you over the phone." She explained.

"Over the phone would have been better than finding a half-naked man in your apartment." He pointed out, his voice low so the man in question didn't overhear.

"I know." Her tone matching his. Laying a hand on his arm, she added,"This is not how I wanted you to find out."

"I don't know what to do with this. We don't lie to each other, Nol." He softly said as he turned his head to look down at her standing beside him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. She lightly squeezed his arm as she asked,"Can we still go to lunch and talk about this?"

He opened his mouth to answer, although he had no idea what to say, thankfully he was saved when his phone beep with a new text message. He shrugged her hand from his arm to slip the phone out, seeing it was from Renzulli.

He raised his head to look at her, before saying,"I can't. I have to get back to the station."

"What about your break?" She questioned.

"Renzulli needs my help with something." He explained, feeling thankful for the interruption. He needed time to wrap his head around this. "After that my second tour starts."

"What are we going to do?" She quietly asked. "When are we gonna talk about this?"

"I dunno." He answered with a shrug. "I'll call you when I can."

Without another word, he turned to leave the hall until she reached out to grab his arm to stop him. She softly said his name, the helpless tone hurt his heart. He turned his head to look at her, seeing the pained look on her face. He hated seeing her hurt, but he was too upset and mad to deal with this right now- still he didn't want to leave on too bad of a note.

With that thought in mind, he leaned forward to lightly kiss the side of her head before he whispered,"I got to go."

"Okay." She mouthed with a short nod as she released his arm. She wrapped her arms around herself, watching him turn and leave the hall. She heard his and Spencer's muffled voices as they quietly spoke to each other before Jamie walked out the door.

She stood in the same spot for a moment and drew in a breath, trying to get her emotions under control, before she joined Spencer in the living room. Without a word, she sank down to the couch beside him, keeping her gaze straight ahead, not wanting him to read the expression on her face or see how upset she was- he wasn't dumb though. He knew she wasn't okay.

"You know, I can still get a hotel-"

"It's fine." Noelle cut him off with a shake of the head, knowing what he was gonna offer.

Spencer turned his head for a moment to look at her, then turned back to look at the television. "If you need to talk-"

"It's okay." She interrupted him again. She leaned back against the couch with a sigh, keeping her eyes on the screen in front of her like it was the most interesting thing in the world, while she absentmindedly petted Daisy; who was laying between her and Spencer on the couch.

He nodded his head, accepting her answer, even though he could tell nothing was okay. He cleared his throat, then leaned forward to grab something from the coffee table.

"Well, not to make an awkward situation more awkward, but can you bandage me up?"

She pulled her attention away from the television to look at him, seeing a tube of ointment and large bandage in his hands. She shot him a grateful smile as she took it from his hands while he lifted his shirt, knowing this was his way of dropping the subject and distracting her.

He had learned months ago, it was pointless trying to push her to open up and talk about something. He remembered the countless times he tried to get her to talk about what happened at the house with Jimmie, but she remained tight-lipped. Which was why he tried to find ways to distract her by taking her to the beach, the dog park and the gym to box.

For now, all he could do was be there for her, be her friend and wait for the moment that she needed him.

•••

Later that night, after making sure Spencer was okay alone- which he assured her he was, Noelle went into work for a couple of hours, planning to get caught up on paperwork until she was called to the scene to look over a body.

After tracking down her co-worker, Will, the two arrived minutes later at one of the more ritzy hotels in the city- a place the well-to-do used for meetings and parties, and now apparently a murderer used for a drop off. She didn't know what surprised her the most when she arrived, that someone dumped a body in this part of the city or that Nicky was at the scene.

She told Will to hold on as she walked over to the teenager, softly saying her name to get her attention. Nicky turned toward the familiar voice, her eyes red with unshed tears as she rushed over to Noelle.

"Hey, what's going on? What happened?" Noelle questioned in concern, which only increased when Nicky threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. "Nicky, what happened? Are you okay?"

The young girl shook her head,"I screwed up, Noelle. I-I don't know why I did it. He told me to stay in the car, but I didn't-"

"He who? Nicky, what's going on?" Noelle asked as her heart pounded in her chest. All she could think was worst case scenario, that Nicky was involved somehow and was in danger.

"Uncle Danny." Nicky answered. "I was with him and I begged him to bring me to the scene. He told me to stay in the car, but I didn't listen and I saw it! I saw the body." She explained, causing Noelle to breathe a sigh of relief, although she knew Danny couldn't do the same. Erin was going to kill him.

"It's okay, shh, it's okay." Noelle said, seeing the teenager getting upset. She laid her hands on either side of her face, catching her eyes,"As long as you're okay, that is all that matters. Are you okay?"

Nicky nodded her head to answer, not being able to find her voice. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if she was okay, but she knew she had already messed up enough, she didn't want to make things worse by worrying everyone.

"Okay, good. For now, we just need to get you home. I can take you." Noelle offered, already planning ahead in her mind of what she needed to do. She could tell Will to just take the body in and she'll do the autopsy as soon as she got back, instead of giving first impressions on the scene.

"It's okay." She shook her head. "Uncle Jamie is on his way to get me."

"Jamie's coming here?" She questioned, her heart racing at hearing her boyfriend's name. She had not spoken to him since he left her apartment earlier that day. She liked to believe it was because he was just busy with work, but deep down she knew better, she knew he was still upset with her.

"Yeah, he should be here soon-" Nicky began to say as the man in question arrived at the scene and began to walk through the crowd toward them.

"Wait, there he is!" She exclaimed as she pointed over toward him then called out to him.

"Hey, sorry, I'm late-" Jamie began to say to his niece, his voice trailed off when he saw Noelle standing there. He knew there was a chance she would be there, but had hoped she wouldn't be. He wasn't sure how to feel about everything earlier and now seeing her so soon afterwards brought all of that up again.

"Hey." Noelle quietly said as she clasped her hands together to keep from reaching out to him.

"Hey." Jamie nodded then looked over at his niece to ask if she was ready to go.

"Is everything okay?" Nicky asked, ignoring his question and looked between the couple.

"Everything's fine." Jamie said as he laid a hand on the top of her head and began to lead her toward his parked car. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Wait, Jamie." Noelle said, scrambling to follow behind him. She waited until he turned around before adding,"Can we, uh, can we talk?"

"I need to get her home." Jamie answered as he nodded toward Nicky.

"I don't mind." The teenager spoke up. "I'll wait in the car... for real this time, I promise." This was a promise she would keep. She didn't know what was going on with the couple, but she wanted them to talk and be okay again.

Jamie didn't say anything, just rested his hands on his hips and looked away from Noelle while Nicky walked away from them and sat in the car. He didn't want to come right out and tell Noelle he didn't want to talk to her, that was something he had never said to her and he never planned to. He didn't think he could go through his life not having her there to talk to even if he tried- he just couldn't deal with this right now.

"Jamie, I'm sorry." She softly said.

"I know." He sighed as he finally turned to look at her. "And I get you didn't want to tell me over the phone, but I wish you still would have found a way to tell me, Nol."

He paused for a moment to get his emotions under control, before adding,"And it's not because I think you need my permission or anything, but do you have any idea the thoughts that went through my head when I saw a strange man in your apartment and you were nowhere to be seen? It scared the hell out of me."

"I know, okay? I know I screwed up." Taking a step toward him, she added,"And you're right, maybe I should have tried harder to tell you. I feel bad, okay? I really do. Like I said before, this is not how I planned for you two to meet."

He nodded his head at her words and knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't stop himself from asking,"Why is he here, Nol?"

"What?" She asked surprised. Lowering her eyebrows, she added,"I've told you before, he wants to help find Jimmie."

"Is that it?" He questioned.

"What do you mean is that it?" She asked, feeling even more confused by the line of questioning.

"Is there anything going on between you two?" He asked as he turned his head to look at her, wanting to read the expression on her face. The question was one that had been running through his head since he heard the other man's name.

"What?" She breathed out. The question shocking her to her core. "Jamie, no! We're just friends, I've told you that. This is ridiculous-"

"Is it?" He cut her off. When she nodded her head, he added,"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I just explained why." She stated as she threw out her arms to get her point across. She felt frustrated, like he wasn't even listening to what she was saying.

"No, I mean, why didn't you tell me about him in general?" He asked. "Nol, you never said a word about him until recently. You made me believe all you did was work in Florida, that you didn't have a life outside of that, but that's not true is it? Somehow along the way, this guy become so important that he risk coming all the way here just to save you." He said, speaking out loud some of the thoughts that has gone through his head.

"No, he came this way to help. To be a friend..." She began to explain, then paused when she read the look on his face- a look she hadn't seen from him much growing up; it was jealousy. Shaking her head, she grabbed his hands, wanting to tell him there was no reason to be because he's all she had ever wanted.

"Jamie, you don't have to be jealous-"

"I'm not." He cut her off and pulled his hands away. "I just, I..."

"You what?" She questioned when he paused and looked away.

He turned to look at her, a pained look on his face as he quietly admitted,"I remember a time when you use to look to me to save you, a time when you needed me, and I was your everything."

Noelle opened her mouth to quickly remind him that she still did, but before she could say a word, she heard her co-worker call out to her. She turned her head, seeing him standing with Danny as they waited for her to come look at the body.

"You should get back to work." Jamie softly said, getting her attention.

"Can we finish talking about this later?"

"I don't know if there is anything else to say-"

"Jamie, please." She pleaded with him. "Please, just come over later tonight and we can-"

He shook his head to stop her, before saying,"I'm gonna stay at my place." He swallowed the lump in his throat, hating to see the hurt look on her face.

"For how long?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, just for tonight or-"

"I don't know." He answered her honestly.

"Jamie-"

"I got to go." He mouthed, knowing his voice would betray him if he tried to speak any louder.

She gave him a slow nod, her vision blurred with tears as she watched him walk away. For now, she would just give him space, even though every part of her screamed to run after him. She felt like it would do no good though, she knew how he was when he was upset and angry. She would find a way to fix this though, she was not going to lose him.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps coming toward her, she quickly wiped at her eyes, then turned her head to see Danny coming to a stop beside her. Between the look on her face and witnessing the talk with her and his brother, he could tell something was going on with them.

"You okay?" He shot her a concerned look.

"Mm-hm." She lied with a nod. Needing to change the subject, she joked,"Better than you. Erin is gonna kill you."

"Yeah, I know." Danny said with a sigh, remembering the moment of panic when he realized Nicky was out of the car and had seen the dead body. "But that kid is too much like her mom. She hit me with the puppy dog eyes."

"She is good about that." Noelle agreed with a nod.

The two began to walk toward the body of the young girl whose life was cut too short. Before they could reach the crowd, Danny reached out to grab her arm to bring her to a stop. She turned her head to look at him, a confused look on her face as she wondered why he had stopped her.

"Are you sure you're okay, Little Bit? Something going on with you and the kid?" He questioned.

From the looks of things earlier, things were not okay- something he knew would be bad for them both. They were good for each other, always had each other's back from an early age, and he had no doubt they needed each other. As dramatic as it sounded, he wasn't sure if they could survive without each other.

"Everything's fine, Danny Boy." She lied again. She flashed him a smile, one he could tell was not genuine, before she added,"Let's get to work. You have a killer to find."

•••

 _A/N; I know there was a lot of Spencer, but I love his friendship with Nol. Plus, you know, drama! lol._

 _Big thanks to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to High Gaurdian, werks, LungTienXiang, jlmayer, Guest, BLBLF, mcgeeksgirl, Daniel Reagan, Bethers, lilnightmare17, insanefangirlsunite, Rasiel Hasu, DaniNatureGirl391, acechica, Love. Fiction. 2016, Guest- Anica, Sage Londyn, Eddie Reagan, Guest, CourtneyD4494 and SCARLETCOIN2012 for reviewing. If I forgot someone, I apologize- since reviews are not showing up, I can't tell if I did list everyone._

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	24. A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

**24; A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words**

Noelle let out a groan as she rolled from her back to her side, her face scrunched up in pain as the horrible nightmare ran through her mind. It was basically the same one she has had many times before; she's back in the house, Jimmie is coming after her, there is no escape and the worst part- there is no one to save her this time.

With a gasp, she snapped her eyes open as she reached out to the other side of the bed for Jamie, then pulled in a shaky breath- her heart feeling heavy when she realized he wasn't there and a part of her worried if he ever would be again.

She sighed as she lightly touched the pillow he use to lay his head on, before rolling over to her other side to face the bedside table. She reached out to grab her cell phone, already having a feeling there wouldn't be a text or missed call from him waiting for her.

She pulled up his number as she thought about sending him a text message. Her finger hovering over the phone as she tried to figure out what she could even say. She had sent him a few apology texts since the night he showed up at the crime scene to pick up Nicky, but none of these got a response back.

Giving up for now, she dropped the phone onto the bed, the tossed the comforter aside with a sigh before she stood up from the bed. She raised her arms to stretch, then froze when she heard a noise coming from another part of the apartment. She reached out to grab the baseball bat by the bed, then creeped out into the hallway.

Hearing another noise, she jumped with a small gasp, then froze for a moment with the bat over her head. She blew out a breath as she tried to work up the courage to continue to search the apartment. Tiptoeing into the living room, her eyes scanned the area, not seeing anyone or seeing anything out of place.

Her eyes jumped over to the kitchen door when she realized the noise was coming from in there. With her heart beating in her chest, she slowly walked toward the door, flashing back to the times in Florida when she discovered that Jimmie had rearranged things in the kitchen.

When she was close enough, she kicked at the door, causing it to swing open, then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Spencer standing in front of the stove. He turned briefly to look at her, seeing her lower the bat, before he turned back to the stove.

"Seriously, again? Are we going to go through this every morning?" Spencer questioned as he shot her another look from over his shoulder before going back to the eggs cooking in the pan.

"I'm sorry." She breathed out and stepped further into the room, feeling embarrassed for overreacting again. She sat the bat down by the door, then walked over toward him. "I keep forgetting you're here."

"Ouch. I'll try not to take offense to that, Elle." He said. "I mean, it has been two full days since I've been staying here, which means, two mornings that you've forgotten I was here."

"Sorry." She repeated with a chuckle. "You know I'm not trying to offend you. Things have been kinda crazy the last couple of days with work and I haven't really been sleeping well..."

He nodded his head as her voice trailed off. He knew her work had been crazy lately because she had been throwing herself into it to stay distracted to keep from thinking of Jamie- just like he also knew she wasn't sleeping well because she was missing him and was plagued by nightmares.

"You know, you don't have to keep making breakfast." Noelle pointed out as she watched him scooped some scrambled eggs from the pan into a plate that already had bacon and toast on it.

"Are you saying you don't want it?" Spencer questioned as he held the plate out toward her, knowing what the answer would be.

"I didn't say that." She said, taking the plate from him, causing him to smile before he turned back to pour the rest of the eggs into the other plate for himself. "I'm just saying you don't have to do this."

He shrugged his shoulders as he carried the pan over toward the dishwasher and loaded it inside.

"I gotta eat anyways, so figured I would make extra." He said, trying to play it off. Honestly with everything going on, he wanted to make sure she was having at least one good meal a day- and as they say, breakfast is the most important one.

"Oh, actually, I need to take Daisy out first." She stated, realizing she needed to take care of her dog before she sat down to eat.

"Already did it." He turned to face her. "And fed her too."

"You walked my dog and fed her?" She asked surprised as Daisy came into the kitchen, as if she knew she was being talked about.

"Mm-hm." He said with a nod, then turned toward the cabinet behind him to grab a bag of dog treats. After getting a few pets from her owner, Daisy walked over toward him. He told her to sit, then gave her a treat and a scratch behind the ears,"We're becoming friends."

"I see that. I also see that you're bribing her to like you more- nice, Spence." She joked, causing him to lift his head and smile at her. She shook her head, a chuckle escaping her lips, before she grew serious and said,"But did you forget what the doctor said? He said you're suppose to rest and heal."

"I heard him." He said, raising up from petting Daisy. "And I am resting and healing."

When she shot him a look, he threw out his arms,"I am! Or at least I'm trying to. I'm just not good with downtime. I have to stay busy or I'll go crazy." He was quiet for a moment in thought, before continuing,"Plus, you know, I remember having a similar conversation with you after you were released from the hospital and couldn't sit still."

"I remember too." She nodded. "I also remember you telling me I didn't have to worry about going crazy since I already was." She adding as she shot him a look, causing him to laugh since he knew she wasn't really mad about the comment.

"You can't say that I'm wrong. You are crazy, Elle." He teased while he grabbed a plate and walked over to the table in the corner.

"Remind me why we are friends again?" She questioned as she joined him at the table- which had two glasses of orange juice on it that he had sat out earlier.

"'Cause I saved your life and you owe me." He answered while shoving a bite of food in his mouth, causing her to shake her head with a laugh at their jokes.

For the next few minutes, not much was said between the two, but Spencer kept an eye on her, wanting to make sure she actually ate the food on her plate. He could pinpoint the exact moment Jamie crossed her mind, when her face fell and she went from eating to pushing the food around on her plate.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" He asked.

"Rarely." She stated.

He shook his head and added,"I mean with the boyfriend."

She raised her head to look at him, a pained look on her face as she quietly said,"Answer still applies."

"Tell me again why I shouldn't just go get a hotel?" Spencer questioned her. With a short shake of the head, he added,"I didn't come here to mess things up with your life."

"I know." Noelle said sincerely. Sitting her fork down, a bitter chuckle escaped her lips,"You know, I know Jamie more than I know myself sometimes, and I know that it's best to give him space to deal with things instead of pushing him, so that is what I am trying to do- but then I think, maybe I should push him? In this instance, maybe my giving him space makes him think I don't care, when that is not true at all."

"I'm sure he knows you care, Elle." He said when he saw her drop her head. In his opinion it was easy to see, from the first moment she mentioned Jamie to him, he saw it clear as day. He didn't know Jamie the way she did, but he did know how men think, causing him to add,"You know it's a pride thing, right?"

"What?" She asked, raising her head to look at him.

"You've told me stories about how he was always there for you, right? Protecting you, saving you... he was basically your superhero, right?"

"Hey, I was my own superhero. I was Kid Kelley." She corrected him.

"I'm sure you were." Spencer laughed. Thinking about what she said, he added,"Wait does that mean you wore tights?"

"Mm-hm." Noelle nodded. "And a cape"

"I bet that was hot as hell." He joked.

"Shut up!" She laughed. Pointing a finger at him to playfully warn him, she said,"Now get back to the subject."

"Right, well, I just mean, not that long ago, there was a time you needed him the most and he couldn't be there. He couldn't save you, but someone else did." He explained as he motioned to himself. "That's gotta be killing him. So, now you gotta let him know that you do still need him- that he is still your hero or whatever."

"But I do still need him!" She exclaimed. "I've never _not_ needed him and I-"

He held up his hands to stop her, then said,"You need to be telling him this- not me."

"I would if he would just talk to me." She sighed.

"Maybe you were right before, maybe in this instance you shouldn't give him space." He suggested with a shrug. "Maybe with this, you should make him listen."

"Would it work on you?" She questioned him. "If your girlfriend was trying to force you to talk about something, would you actually listen to her or shut down and ignore what she was saying?"

"I think I would listen." He answered. "But, maybe I'm not the best person to dish out relationship advice since the closest I've been to a relationship is a string of one night stands."

"My dating history isn't much better." She scoffed. "Before Jamie, I only dated some here and there. In college I had a semi serious boyfriend who decided to start dating someone new without telling me first. Charming, huh?"

"Yeah, he sounds like a real piece of work." Spencer said. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why someone would want to cheat on her. "Please tell me you didn't let him get away with it."

"No, I confronted him. I called him every bad name you could imagine, right in front of his friends and new girlfriend." Noelle laughed as she thought back to her moment of bravery.

"The new girlfriend had no idea he was with someone else when he started up with her, so she was mad too. She threw her drink in his face and stormed off, then he tried to sweet talk me again, but I slapped him and walked away."

"That's my girl." He laughed, proud to hear that she put him in his place. "Was that the end of him?"

"Almost." She answered. "He followed along behind me and kept trying to talk to me. When he grabbed my arm and jerked me toward him, Jamie stepped in and knocked him out."

"Your own private superhero." He nodded, a smile on his face. He was glad to know that from the beginning she always had someone on her side.

"Yeah, my superhero, J-Boy." She laughed.

"Wait, wait, so you were Kid Kelley and he was J-Boy." Spencer asked with a laugh of his own. When she nodded her head, he shook his, before adding,"You two were a couple of nerds, huh?"

"Don't act like you don't like our superhero names." Noelle said back. "You know deep down, you're just jealous because you don't have a super cool superhero name."

"You caught me." He said, sitting back in the chair. He held up his hand,"I secretly wished I had a super cool superhero name."

"Well, if you're lucky, we'll let you join our superhero team." She joked as she stood up from the table.

She grabbed their plates, then threw away any leftovers before loading the dishwasher. When she was done clearing the table, she turned back to face Spencer with a serious look on her face. She leaned against the counter, before asking,"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, shoot." He said.

"Do you think Jimmie will ever just get bored? That the obsession will just go away and he'll leave me alone?" She asked while she nervously played with her hands.

"Honestly?" He questioned, earning a nod from her. He blew out a breath, then admitted,"No, I don't. I don't think he is ever going to give up on you."

She nodded her head at his comment and looked anywhere other than him as tears filled her eyes. She already figured that was going to be the answer, but she wished he had answered differently.

She sniffed and brushed a tear from her cheek, before looking back at him,"I know it was a stupid question to ask-"

"It wasn't stupid." He interrupted. "You were just hoping."

"Yeah, I was." She nodded. "Since he hasn't left anything in awhile, I just kinda hoped that meant he moved on from me."

"I wished he would, Elle." Spencer softly said.

"Me too." Noelle said back, her voice barely above a whisper. She blew out a breath and turned her head, catching the time, then added,"I need to go get ready for work..."

As Spencer stood up from the table, she pointed a finger at him, then added,"And you mister; rest and heal today. No leaping tall buildings or flying around with your cape, just take it easy."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, tipping an imaginary hat at her.

"I mean it, Spence." She warned him.

"I heard you, jeez!" He exclaimed as he held up his hands in surrender. He motioned toward the door,"Just go get ready for work and don't worry so much- it causes wrinkles."

"Don't make me hurt an injured man." She joked as she shot him a playful glare on the way toward the kitchen door.

Just as she was about to walk out of the room, he called out to her, then waited until she turned to look at him.

"What about The Spence? Kinda like The Hulk. That's a cool superhero name, right?"

"I think it's important to not go with your first thought sometimes." She said, trying to hold back a laugh. "Keep thinking on it."

"This is your nice way of saying it sucks, right?" He questioned.

"Pretty much." She said with a nod, the chuckle finally escaping her lips as she pushed the door open and exited the room, hearing him grumbling as the door shut behind her.

•••

Minutes later, Noelle came down the hallway, trying to slip on a pair of black high heels and not trip herself up. She had spent a little longer in the shower than she meant to and now if she didn't make it out the door in the next few minutes, there was no way she would make it to work on time with the traffic.

"Okay, I am out of here. I should have been out of here minutes ago, I got a crazy busy day today." She rambled. When Spencer didn't respond, she raised her head then came to a stop when she saw him standing in the middle of the living room with Danny.

"Hey, Danny. What are you doing here so early? Is everything okay?" Noelle questioned as she took a few steps toward him with her heart pounding in her chest, her mind expecting the worst.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I came by to-"

"Is this about the autopsy? The girl outside the hotel?" She asked. "I know I should have called you sooner, but we've been backed up and I haven't had a chance to do it yet. But it is on my to-do list this morning."

When she saw him open his mouth, she rushed forward and continued,"So, unfortunately, there isn't much I can tell you that I didn't already tell you at the scene. The Jane Doe's about 16 or 17, she has head trauma and bruising around the neck. And she's definitely not from the streets. Just glancing at her, I can tell she was well taken care of-"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Danny interrupted her. "Just take a deep breath and calm down. That's not why I'm here. You're stressing for nothing."

"I told you, you worry too much." Spencer spoke up, getting her attention. He pointed toward her forehead as he mouthed,"Wrinkles."

"Shut up." Noelle hissed over at him, causing him to laugh.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll go take Daisy back out and let you two talk." He offered. He had taken the dog out while Noelle was showering, which was when Danny showed up and introductions were made.

"Hey, hold up, actually, I need to talk to you." Danny said to the other man. When Spencer and Noelle looked over at him, he added,"That's the real reason I'm here, and a little birdie told me you were here."

"Would that little birdie be named Jamie?" Noelle questioned as her face fell. Most of the time she tried to convince herself the reason she hadn't heard from her boyfriend was because he was busy, and she was starting to realize she was right- he was busy... busy avoiding her.

"Mm-hm." Danny answered her with a nod.

"It's not what it seems, Danny. He-"

"Hey, I'm not getting in the middle of it." Danny cut her off as he held up his hands. "That is between you and the kid- I'm not taking sides. All I'm gonna say is, you two need to fix this because I remember growing up how it was the few rare times you two had a disagreement and didn't talk... it wasn't good for any us."

"I would love to fix this if your brother would just talk to me-"

"Like I said, I'm not getting in the middle of it." Danny said, interrupting her again. "I told him the same thing."

"He talked to you about this? What did he say?" Noelle questioned him. When he shot her a look, she sighed before saying,"Right... Not getting in the middle of it."

"Just talk to him. Hit him in the head and tell him to stop being stubborn or lock him in a room, whatever you gotta do- just talk to him and fix it, you understand what I'm saying?" Danny said.

"Yeah, I got it." Noelle softly said with a nod. "I guess, maybe, I'll try him later, but first I got to get to work before I'm even later. I'll call you after the autopsy."

She called out a greeting to Danny and Spencer, telling the latter to call her if he needed anything, but he assured her he would be okay as she rushed out the front door after giving Daisy a quick pet on the head.

"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Spencer questioned once he and Danny were alone.

"Your incident that might not be so random." Danny said, reaching into his pocket to pull out several mug shots. He had gather up a collection of criminals that were known to team up with others and ones who had robbed others at knife point, as well as, a few randoms just in case.

"Here, take a look at these and see if you see your attacker."

"Okay." Spencer said, taking the pictures from him and sitting down on the couch as he began to flip through them slowly.

Once he was finished, he looked up and held out the pictures. With a shake of his head, he said,"Sorry, none of these were the guy who stabbed me."

"Ah, well, I figured it might be a long shot." Danny said as he took the mug shots back and slipped them back into his coat pocket. "Is there anything you can remember that you didn't from before?"

"No." Spencer shook his head. "This guy- about 5'10, dark hair, dark eyes; came out of nowhere and was convinced I had something of his. We went back and forth a few times, I was basically trying to tell him to leave me the hell alone, and then I took a few steps ahead of him and that is when it happened... he stabbed me."

"And you've never seen him before?" Danny questioned, going over any connections he could in his head. "It couldn't be someone you have arrested before in Florida who teamed up with Jimmie for revenge?"

"I doubt it. I mean, you know how it is, you basically remember everyone you arrest, but some do stand out more than others." Spencer began to say. "But even still, I didn't know this guy."

"Yeah." Danny said with a slow nod, knowing what he meant. "I've made some phone calls. It doesn't seem like Jimmie made any new friends while committed. They said he mostly sat alone and read books or just stared outside the window, they didn't seem to think he was up to anything."

"Not surprising. The guy is a loner and keeps to himself mostly, but I doubt he wasn't doing anything. He was probably plotting, he's a lot smarter than he looks." Spencer explained. "He's been in and out of institutions all his life. He knows how they operate and how to act to avoid suspicion. If he was talking to anyone or planning anything, they would never know."

"In other words, don't underestimate him?" Danny asked.

"Exactly." Spencer said with a nod. Seeing Daisy come out of the kitchen after drinking some water, he stood up from the couch as he said,"Look, I'm not trying to rush you, but if there was nothing else, I was gonna take the dog back out-"

"Actually, there was one more thing." Danny said, cutting him off. "This was recovered near the crime scene."

Reaching into his other pocket, he pulled out a small evidence bag that contained a wallet. After running test on the wallet, but finding nothing that would help with the investigation, it was released to be returned to its owner.

"Thanks." Spencer said, taking the bag from him and began to look over everything.

"Unfortunately, any cash you had in there is gone, but looks like everything else is there." Pulling something else from his pocket, a picture which he held up for him to see, he added,"This was recovered too."

Spencer raised his head to see what he was talking about, then blew out a breath when he recognized the picture as the one he kept in his wallet. The picture was of Noelle and his co-worker's dog taken the day he took her to the dog park.

In a weird way, the picture is what kept him going because of the genuine smile on her face. It's what pushed him in the moments he had doubts or was too tired to go on. The picture was a constant reminder that all he wanted was to create a safe world for her and others; he wanted her to be able to sleep peacefully without nightmares and be able to walk down the street without having to look over her shoulders. He didn't want her to fear for her life any longer.

He cut his eyes over to Danny's, then folded his arms across his chest, refusing to back down or feel like he had done anything wrong. "Let me guess, you want an explanation?"

"You are a good detective- which is something your sergeant told me when I spoke to him." Danny said. "Right after he told me you left your badge and gun behind to race up here. So, yeah, I would like to know why, because if you're here to-"

"It's not like that." Spencer cut him off. "Look, I won't lie to you, I do care about her. But I'm not an idiot, I see how much she cares about your brother and after one, very awkward exchange with your brother, I can see how much he cares for her too, and I respect that. I'm not here to get in the way or mess things up with them."

Seeing that Danny was still suspicious of him, he took a step back and sat back down on the couch. Deciding to be as open and honest as he could, he began to say,"You ever have one of those cases, where logic and proof says there is nothing there, so you follow the rules even though your gut tells you there is something there?"

He didn't wait for Danny to answer as he continued,"Then everything that happens after that, especially the really bad thing, you can't shake it- you can never forgive yourself for that because you know you should have done something sooner. You know you royally screwed up and no matter what you do afterwards, you can never really fix things."

He paused for a moment, seeing Danny give him a short nod, understanding what he meant. He ran a hand over his hair as he added,"In the process of wanting to protect her- on wanting to make things right, I began to develop feelings for someone I know I never have a shot with, but that's okay, because above all; I just want her to be happy, to lead a very normal and very long life- I just want her to live."

The two were quiet for a moment while Danny tried to get a read on him. He knew Noelle trusted him and the first time he spoke to the detective on the phone weeks ago, he felt like he was a good guy too, but the cop in him had to make sure. If he was there to help them catch Jimmie- that was fine, but if he was there to steal his kid brother's girlfriend- that was a whole other issue.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling though that he was being honest with him- that regardless of how he felt, he was never going to make a move. He just wanted to help and would keep his feeling buried down deep inside.

"Look, Elle has always said nothing but nice things about you and your family, and I know you might not trust me right now, but I need to be involved with this. I need to find this sick freak and get him far away from her." Spencer said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Believe me, we're doing all we can to find him and keep her safe-"

"I do believe it." Spencer cut him off. "I have no doubt you're a great detective and your family is doing all they can to keep her safe, but you have no idea who it is you are protecting her from."

"Well, clue me in." Danny stated as he sat down on the edge of the coffee table.

"You know the basics; he stalked and harassed her, kidnapped her and held her captive which almost costed her her life when she tried to escape." Spencer rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. "You know what he did, but you don't know him.

"Like I mentioned before, he's been in and out of institutions since he was a kid. From my research, it started when his brother Jacob was born and he became jealous of the attention his brother got; mostly from their mother. He couldn't handle it, he wanted her all to himself."

"Did he ever hurt his brother back then?" Danny asked.

"At first, no. He just destroyed anything their mother gave Jacob; toys, clothes, you name it." Spencer answered. "But I did find a hospital report from when Jacob was six. It said that he fell out of the tree house and broke his arm. He was inches away from a wooden sandbox, if he would have fallen on it, it could have broken his back, instead only his arm hit it."

"That kid was lucky."

"Yeah." Spencer said with a nod, agreeing with Danny. They both knew there was a chance that fall could have killed him. "Now there's no proof that Jimmie was involved with that accident, but I did speak to this guy that went to school with Jimmie and Jacob back in the day, and he said that Jimmie was always daring his brother to do things- like climb on stuff, and then push him off to try to hurt him."

"So that day, he probably forced his brother to climb up to the tree house, then shoved him off of it." Danny said, knowing where his thoughts were going.

"That's what I guess happened." Spencer said. "And I'm guessing his parents thought that too, because he was sent away not long after that for the first of many times."

"But, didn't the brother end up taking him in when he got older?" Danny questioned.

"Yeah, from what I understand, the parents never told Jacob what happened- all he knew was his brother was gone for most of his life." Spencer explained. "After their parents died and Jacob was financially stable to take him in, that's what he did. I'm sure he thought this was their chance to finally bond and be the type of brothers they were never able to be growing up. He never knew his parents were trying to protect him."

"A lesson he learned too late." Danny said, referring to the fact that Jacob died not long after taking his brother in.

Spencer nodded his head in agreement. Turning serious, he asked the question that Danny himself have thought about more than once- the question that made a chill go down his spine.

"Now, just imagine, he did all of this to his brother because he was jealous of the attention he got, right? And now, he's obsessed with Elle- I would guess more now than before. He wants her to himself, he wants all of her attention. So what do you think he's gonna do to the one who takes her attention away from him?"

•••

Hearing his phone beep, Jamie slowed down to slip the cell phone out, seeing that his brother was calling. He told himself he would call Danny back later after his tour, then went to slip the phone back into his pocket, but paused for a moment to bring up his text messages. He read the most recent text message he got that morning from Noelle again. Out of all the text messages and phone calls, he still hasn't spoken to her.

It wasn't so much about being mad anymore, the more he thought about it, he was starting to realize maybe he was overreacting. The truth was he trusted her, it's not like he thought she was sneaking around behind his back or going to cheat on him- it was more what Spencer's presence meant.

It was a reminder that there was once a time that she needed someone, that she needed him- like many times before in their past, but this time he couldn't be there. Maybe it was stupid to someone else, but it made him feel replaced and it made him feel helpless.

He had every intentions of talking to her at some point, he just didn't know when because he had no idea what to say. He didn't know how to get rid of the feelings he had, even if he knew he was being ridiculous.

"You still with me, rookie?" Renzulli asked as his steps faltered. He turned to look at his partner, who had come to a stop and was staring at his phone deep in thought. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine." Jamie said, slipping the phone into his pocket and walking down the sidewalk.

"You know, you've been very quiet today." Renzulli stated as the two began to walk side by side again. "I'm starting to think everything isn't okay."

"I'm just looking for our tagger." Jamie said. The two had been searching for a person by the name of 'TMac', who had recently vandalized the gate of one of the local businesses. He had hoped he could get his partner off of his back by getting them back to the reason they were out roaming the streets, but he should have known better.

"Did you have a tussle with the hellcat?" Renzulli joked, referring to Noelle.

"No, it's- it's not like that." Jamie sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "She has a friend staying with her from Florida."

"So? You don't like the friend or something?" Renzulli questioned, wondering what the big deal was.

"Actually, I don't really know him." Jamie said bitterly. "I never even heard his name until recently."

"Oh!" Renzulli said, understanding the problem now. "You're jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" Jamie exclaimed as he came to a quick stop and looked at Renzulli, seeing the look of disbelief on his face. He couldn't really blame him, his words didn't even sound convincing to himself.

"Oh, you're jealous alright." Renzulli argued. "You're also a schmuck if you think that girl will step out on you. You forget I've seen you two together more than once and even a blind man can see how much she cares for you. She's not going anywhere unless you end up chasing her off by being foolish."

"Okay, maybe I'm a little jealous." Jamie finally admitted out loud.

"Good." Renzulli nodded as the two began to walk again. "The first step is always to admit the problem." He joked, causing Jamie to roll his eyes as a chuckle escaped his lips.

"I don't want to feel this way- honestly, I've never really had to deal with this before." Jamie explained. "And it's not even the fact that she has a male friend, I just feel- I dunno..."

"Threatened?" Renzulli finished for him when his voice trailed off. When he gave him a short nod, he continued,"I think the problem is, this is the first time she has gotten close to someone else. You said something big happened to her in Florida, right? And this guy was there for her?"

"Right." Jamie answered. He didn't tell Renzulli the whole story of what happened to Noelle out of respect for her. He just told him something bad happened to her down there and that's why she moved back home.

"So it's like those two bonded in a way you two never have." Renzulli continued. "And that bothers you."

"Yeah, I mean, for the first time in our lives- I couldn't save her, but he did." Jamie explained.

"But shouldn't it not matter who saved her?" Renzulli questioned him. "Shouldn't it only matter that she was saved and she's here- that she's okay?" He turned his head for a second, seeing that Jamie was thinking about what he said.

Deciding to help him a little further, he added,"Look, kid, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what happened between her and that guy in Florida, because it'll never erase the history you two have. No one can replace that or come between that."

Jamie nodded his head, realizing he was right. Noelle and Spencer might have bonded during a tragic incident, but he and Noelle had twenty-two years of history on their side.

They had been through everything together; from first kisses and first heart breaks, to family drama and family tragedies. They had laughed together and cried together, and he had no doubt there were many more things they would experience together, but first he needed to talk to her and make things right before he ruined everything they have over something as stupid as jealousy.

He turned his head to thank his partner for opening his eyes to how much of an idiot he was being, but before he could say a word, they heard the radio go off as dispatch told them about an anonymous call that came in.

Someone had spied a body inside an old abandoned house that the homeless and runaways tend to frequent. Renzulli informed them they would check it out since they were close to the location, then the two turned down a side street that would take them to the house faster.

"Easy." Renzulli warned when Jamie stepped up on one of the front steps, causing it to let out a loud groan in protest.

The two slowly made their way up the few steps, each one standing on a different step, scared if they put all of their weight on one it might collapse. Jamie looked back to his partner for a moment, then pushed open what was left of an old wooden door, hearing it crack and pop, before coming to a stop half way. Jamie stepped inside first and heard Renzulli walk in behind him.

With most of the windows broken, the glass littering the floor with all the other debris, there was plenty of sunlight streaming in for them to search the first floor.

"Did you find anything?" Jamie questioned Renzulli, after meeting up with him in front of a set of stairs that would take them up to the second floor of the house.

"No. First floor is clear." Renzulli said.

"I guess we should check upstairs." Jamie suggested as he motioned toward the stairs.

As he went to take a step toward them, Renzulli held out his arm to stop him, before saying,"Hold on. I'll check upstairs."

"Okay." Jamie slowly said, having a feeling there was more he wanted to say.

"During my search, I found a door that led down to a basement." Renzulli explained. "So, while I check upstairs, you can check the basement."

"Why didn't you search the basement?" Jamie asked.

"'Cause I don't do basements." Renzulli answered simply.

"In other words, you're scared of basements." Jamie teased.

"I never said that." Renzulli argued. "I just said I don't do basements. Nothing good ever happens in basements."

Jamie nodded his head in agreement, his face falling for a moment as he realized how true that statement was when he remembered how Noelle was held captive in a basement and almost died trying to escape.

He cleared his throat, trying to push those thoughts aside and get back to the task at hand. "You're right, nothing good ever happens in basements."

Renzulli grabbed a flashlight from his belt, then held it out as he said,"Good luck, rookie."

Jamie took the light from his hand, mumbling out a thanks, before he walked away in search for the basement door. He found it minutes later in the kitchen and opened the door, hearing it creak like the front door had earlier. He turned the flashlight on and shined it inside as he stood on the top step trying to see further into the room before he went down the stairs, but all he could see was blackness staring back at him.

He cautiously walked down a few steps, announcing his presence and asking if anyone needed help, but was met with silence. After stepping off the bottom step, he turned from side to side, shining the light to get a better grasp of his surroundings.

The basement was bigger than he thought it would be, but most of the space was taken up by boxes that were falling apart with stuff spilling out. Most looked like clothes, books, newspapers, and other various household items. It looked like a family packed up to leave and left the junk they didn't want behind.

He knew he needed to search the area, but for a moment he couldn't move as he imagined Noelle being held in a basement like the one he was standing in. His eyes burned with unshed tears as he imagine how hopeless and scared she felt as many days passed by and no one came to save her. He would have given anything to be able to storm down the stairs to rescue her.

He couldn't help but remember something Renzulli said earlier, the details of how she was saved and who saved her wasn't important- the most important part, the only thing that mattered, was she made it out of that basement and was back in all of their lives.

Jamie wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat, before he began to walk further into the basement. If the anonymous caller was right, then that meant there could be someone down there that needed help, meaning he needed to put everything else out of his mind and do his job.

He walked past several boxes stacked on top of each other, starting to feel like he was walking through a maze, when he heard the sound of a door slamming shut. He quickly turned around and shined the light toward the basement door, seeing that it was closed.

He called out a hello, wondering if it was Renzulli messing with him or maybe a gust of wind coming in through a broken window had shut it- either way, he still needed to finish searching the basement. He would worry about the door later.

Making his way further toward the back of the room, he saw something laying on the floor. From where he was standing all he could see was a lump of blankets with a mess of brown hair peeking out. His heart began to race as Noelle and her ordeal in the basement crossed his mind again. This person could be someone's best friend or family member- someone who had been lost and thought to never be found again.

"Hey, police. Are you okay?" Jamie questioned as he walked closer to the pile.

To be safe, he pulled out his gun, holding it in one hand, while holding the flashlight in the other. He kept the light pointed down as he nudged the blanket back to reveal the back of someone with long brown hair laying on the floor. As he stepped a little closer, he realized it wasn't a person after all- it was a mannequin.

He used his foot to flip the mannequin over and felt his eyes widen in surprise as a face that looked eerily like his girlfriend stared back at him. The mannequin had on a dress that he could have sworn he had seen in Noelle's closet before. It even had real lipstick on its lip in a shade that she normally wore as well, if he had to guess, both were probably stolen from her apartment, but that wasn't the worst part.

Seeing three pictures pinned on the mannequin's chest, he kneeled down to get a better look at them, seeing all three were pictures of him and Noelle.

He didn't recognize the picture, but he recognized where it was taken. It was one of the days he had taken her to the gym to teach her how to box. She was so tired afterwards, he had to practically drag her down the sidewalk, then later when she tried to sit down, he had grabbed her to toss her over his shoulders. That moment had been captured in one of the pictures on the mannequin. The next one was of them standing in front of each other talking, and the last was of them kissing.

In each picture his face was marked out, the last one- the kissing one, it was easy to see it had angered Jimmie, he had pressed down so hard to scratch out his face that it had ripped it into shreds.

From the angles of the pictures, he would guess the person who took them was across the street from them- meaning Jimmie was right there within reach and neither one of them noticed it. He felt a sense of fear, as well as, anger at the thought of him being that close, and he couldn't help but wonder how many other times was he that close to her.

Jamie's hands slightly shook as he holstered his gun, then reached out to grab the kissing picture. He tugged on it, freeing it from the pin, then brought it toward him for a closer look. He stared at her face for a moment, seeing how happy and relaxed she was in that moment. It killed him to know that a moment that should have been personal and private to them was ruined by Jimmie. He was always worried about the times he couldn't protect her and these pictures proved he still couldn't protect her.

His eyes moved over to his scratched out face, noticing what looked like pen marks on the back, then flipped the picture over, seeing the word 'MINE' wrote out on the back. He sat the picture down with the word up, then reached out to grab the other two pictures, seeing a word on the back of each one- spelling out the familiar phrase; 'SHE IS MINE'

While still kneeled down beside the mannequin, Jamie reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone, snapping several pictures of the mannequin and both sides of the pictures that were left on it. When he was done, he pulled up his contacts, planning to call his brother Danny, then paused when he began to smell smoke.

He quickly stood up and slipped the phone back into his pocket as he made his way past all the boxes to get to the stairs. He raced up them and reached out to grab the doorknob, then froze when he saw smoke coming from under the door. He carefully laid his hand against the door, then quickly pulled it back when he felt how hot it was. He thought about calling out to his partner, but he hoped Renzulli had made his way outside and wasn't stuck upstairs.

Realizing he wasn't getting out through the door, he turned away from it and removed his dark blue jacket to cover his mouth and nose. He ran back down the stairs, shining the flashlight around, looking for a way out. Spying a window on his left and right, he went to the right side first, standing on an old box filled with clothes, and tried to raise the window, but quickly realized it wouldn't budge. He shined the light down and lowered his eyebrows when he saw the window was nailed shut.

He stepped down from the box and turned to rush over to the window on the other side of the room, crashing into stacks of boxes and accidentally dropping the flashlight. As soon as he made it to the other window, he glanced around, looking for something to stand on.

Seeing an old black storage trunk, he pushed it over to the window and jumped on top of it. He tried to open the window, but wasn't all that surprised to find it was nailed shut as well. Realizing this window faced the street, he used the palm of his hand to beat against the window, trying to get one of the many pedestrian's attention.

He removed his jacket from his mouth to yell out for help, then began to cough when he took in a big gulp of smoke. He quickly placed the material against his mouth and nose as he glanced around him for something to break open the window.

Hearing a crackling noise coming from behind him, he snapped his head to the side, seeing that the flames had entered the room. With all the junk lying around, he knew it would only take a few minutes before the room went up in flames.

For a moment, all he could do was watch the fire, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he feared this was the end for him. He couldn't help but think of his family and of Noelle, and of all the things they were going to miss. He couldn't help but wonder if these were the kind of thought that went through Noelle's head as she bleed out on the basement floor that day. Was she scared or at peace as she thought about her life ending? Did she feel pain or was she too out of it to feel anything?

He stepped off of the trunk to lean back against the wall before sliding down to the floor, he felt faint and fought to keep his eyes open. This couldn't be the end, there was still so much he wanted to do, so much he wanted to say.

He wanted to go fishing with his father and play chess with his grandfather. He wanted to joke around with his siblings and share stories with his niece and nephews. He wanted to marry Noelle and be the type of father to their kids that he had growing up. He wanted to make a difference in his city, he wanted to save people, he wanted to be a good man- the type his loved ones would be proud of, but most of all; he wanted to live.

"Joe..." He breathed out, his voice muffled against the coat. "Help me."

He felt his eyes flutter shut as he faintly heard noises above him at the window. There was a sound of shattered glass before he felt the broken pieces raining down over him. His eyes snapped open when he heard Renzulli call out his name. Knowing help was there gave him the strength to push himself up from the floor and raised his hand, his fingertips grazing against Renzulli's.

Stepping up onto the trunk, he felt someone grab his arm, then heard Renzulli yell out for him to give him his other arm. He raised his head, seeing a fireman laid beside Renzulli had his arm, while Renzulli was leaning in the window ready to grab his other arm. Jamie dropped the jacket and raised his arm, feeling Renzulli's wrap his hands around it and began to pull.

Seconds later he felt fresh air hit his face, causing him to take a deep breath and began to cough as he felt them lay him down on the sidewalk. He felt someone place an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, causing him to pull in another deep breath, before he felt himself being placed onto a board then lifted to be placed on a stretcher.

As he was being rolled toward an ambulance his brother Danny appeared over him as he walked along beside the stretcher with a concern look on his face. He heard him ask if he was okay and wondering what happened. Jamie forced his hand to move toward his pocket, feeling his fingers close over his cell phone, then pulled it out.

He let out a grunt, getting his brother's attention as he tried to raise his hand to give him the phone.

Danny took the phone from his hand, a confused look on his face as he wondered why his brother worked so hard to get the phone to him. "What is it, kid? What's on the phone?"

Jamie reached up to remove the mask, ignoring the EMT who told him he needed to leave the mask on, as he choked out one name- Jimmie.

"Jimmie? Jimmie did this? He was in there?" Danny asked, feeling his heart beat in his chest. If he was there, then maybe he hasn't gotten very far.

He turned to look at a group of cops who just pulled up, then snapped his fingers to get their attention, telling them to search the area and gave them a description of Jimmie- letting them know this was no accident, the fire was set on purpose in an attempt to kill one of their own.

After barking out orders, he turned his head back to see Jamie shaking his head, before breathing out,"I didn't see him... it was a set up." He pointed toward his phone,"There's pictures."

As the EMT placed the mask back over Jamie's mouth, Danny began to flip through the pictures on his cell phone, each one pissing him off more. It was like this guy had no fear, like he wasn't scared of being caught. It was almost like he was taunting them, showing them how close he could get to them by repeatedly breaking in and leaving roses. Then he took it a step further, locking Jamie in a burning building and possibly being behind the attack on Spencer.

"Hey." Danny heard Jamie hoarsely call out, causing him to turn his head to look at his brother as he was being loading in an ambulance. He had removed the mask again, his eyes pleaded with Danny as he said,"Nol... protect Nol, okay?"

"I will." Danny promised with a nod as the ambulance door shut. He didn't have the heart to tell his brother that he suspected that for now Noelle would be okay. He had a feeling Jimmie was saving her for last, but first he had to get rid of the competition and he had a feeling Jimmie wasn't going to stop until they stopped him permanently.

•••

 _A/N; Not gonna lie, that last scene killed me, poor Jamie._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and adding the story. Also big thanks to lilnightmare17, traceyaudette, jlmayer, werks, Daniel Reagan, jobosfan, High Gaurdian, RyeBreadQueen, mcgeeksgirl, Love. Fiction. 2016, Eddie Reagan, Bethers, Guest- Anica, SCARLETCOIN2012, Sage Londyn, peace486, Daybreak96 and merdarkandtwisty for reviewing! Also thanks to January Lily as she slowly gets caught up._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	25. Stay With Me

**25; Stay With Me**

That afternoon, Noelle drove the car into an apartment complex, then shut the car off. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and slipped her cell phone out, seeing that she didn't have any new text messages or missed phone calls. She tried not to feel disappointed at the fact that Jamie still hasn't called her back or answered any of her text messages.

She didn't know how much longer he was going to avoid her, the longest he had ever ignored her was three days when they were six and she accidentally broke his favorite action figure. But, even then, he wasn't even really mad at her, just upset about losing his favorite toy.

Days later she had shown up at his house with a new toy that she bought with her weekly allowance and she was quickly forgiven. She couldn't help but wonder if his feelings were similar now- he wasn't really mad at her, just scared of losing someone else important.

Slipping the phone back into her purse, she opened the door and exited the car. Someone else she hasn't heard back from was Danny. She had called him earlier before leaving work to inform him about the autopsy on the girl from the hotel, but all she got was his voicemail.

She was kind of surprised not to hear back from him yet, she knew he had been waiting for the autopsy. When that thought hit, she paused for a moment, her hand laying over her heart as she had a moment of panic. What if something happened? What if something was going on right that moment and she didn't know?

Shaking her head, she began to walk again, telling herself that she was just being paranoid. With everything going on, it was easy to let her mind wander and assume the worst. She just had to remind herself that Danny was probably busy with a case and Jamie was still just ignoring her.

Besides, even though she hasn't spoken to any of the male Reagan's, she did talk to Erin earlier- who was extremely worried about her teenage daughter, which was why Noelle decided to swing by to check on her after leaving work. If something was going on, then Erin would have told her, right?

Unless Erin didn't know either, the paranoid side of her mind pointed out. Shaking her head at herself, she blew out a breath, telling herself to calm down, before she arrived at the front door. It wouldn't do Nicky any good to see her a nervous wreck.

Pushing out all the paranoid fears from her mind, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. She waited a few minutes and began to think maybe she should have called before showing up, but then she heard the sound of the lock turning before the door slowly opened to reveal a miserable looking teenager in an oversized t-shirt and pajama bottoms, looking way younger than her usual cheerful fourteen year old self.

Noelle didn't say a word, instead she held out her arms and waited for Nicky to come toward her. She didn't have to wait long before she felt Nicky throw herself at her and cling to her as tears filled her eyes. She held onto the teenager for a few minutes, then lightly ran a hand up and down her back to comfort her.

"Come on. Let's go talk."

Nicky gave her a nod then stepped out of her arms to turn and walk back to her bedroom, where she had been since coming home from school. She was supposed to go to her grandfather's house after school, but she had begged her mom to let her go home- all she wanted was to hide out in her bed.

After stepping into the apartment, Noelle had shut and locked the door, then followed Nicky down the hall to her room.

"Your mom says you've been having nightmares? That you haven't been getting any sleep lately?" Noelle questioned her minutes later, after the two sat in front of each other on the bed. She actually didn't need an answer to the questions, she could tell the teenager hasn't been sleeping. She saw the same look on her face that she saw in the mirror every day.

"Yeah." Nicky softly said. She hugged a pillow against her chest, then leaned back against the headboard, before adding,"I just keep seeing someone come after me- this dark shadow, and I'm running as fast as I can, but it's never fast enough."

Noelle swallowed hard as she watched the young girl across from her, she knew exactly how that felt. She experienced the same thing in her dreams, as well as, in real life when she was locked in that house with Jimmie. It hurt her heart to know Nicky was having similar nightmares, she would never wish that on her.

"And then I just keep seeing that girl from the hotel." Nicky continued. "Her eyes are open and she's looking right at me, like she's expecting me to help her... to find her killer, but I can't do anything."

"It's okay." Noelle softly said as she reached out to lay a hand on her knee, hoping to give her comfort when she saw her getting aggravated.

"But it's not okay!" Nicky exclaimed. "Someone killed her... she was so young, but someone killed her and that person is still out there."

"I know." Noelle said with a nod. "But, your Uncle Danny is on the case, you know he won't rest until he has the person in custody."

"That's what I want to do one day, I want to be a cop, but... first time I see a dead body and I cried." Nicky said as her face fell and she mentally beat herself over not being strong enough to handle it.

"I did too." Noelle admitted, taking her by surprise. "And the first autopsy I did... I threw up."

"You did?" Nicky questioned.

"Mm-hm." She nodded. "Well, only a little bit, but still- yeah, I threw up and for a moment, I wasn't sure if this was the career for me. I was seriously starting to think I made a mistake and maybe I should pick something else... something that didn't deal with death and dead bodies."

"What changed your mind back?" Nicky asked.

"Your Uncle Jamie." Noelle said, a sad smile appeared on her face as she thought about her boyfriend. "Every time I had a moment and thought I can't do this... he would remind me I could, that I was strong and could do anything I put my mind to. He believed in me, even in the moments I didn't believe in myself."

A genuine smile appeared on the younger girl's face. She was forever grateful that Noelle moved back and that she was dating her uncle now. She always viewed the brunette as family and she couldn't wait for the day that her uncle married Noelle and she officially become a Reagan.

Thinking about Noelle's job, her smile faded a bit, before she asked,"Does it ever get easy? Seeing dead bodies all the time?"

"Honestly? No it doesn't." Noelle said. She paused for a moment, before adding."You know, some people say, to do what we do- rather it's cops, doctors, MEs; anyone who deals in the life or death business, you can't let it get to you, you can't make it personal. You have to go into it with no emotion- even my dad use to say; ' _cops can't cry, so that their city can'_ , but I could never do that. I am the last person who sees these people, I am their last chance to tell their stories, and hopefully along the way I can help bring their loved ones closure."

Seeing Nicky nod her head at what she said, she patted her knee, before saying,"You just gotta figure out how you can deal with it. If that means crying and making it personal, that's fine. Or if that means keep your emotions locked away, that's fine too. Just whatever helps you- find your reason."

Giving her a smile, she added,"But, no matter what, you're strong enough to do whatever you put your mind to. You are a Reagan after all."

Nicky smiled at her words, then asked,"Is that's why you wanted to be a ME? To help tell someone's last story?"

"It's a reason, but not the main reason."

"Then what is the main reason?"

Noelle took in a deep breath, wondering how honest she should be. Deciding she was old enough to know the whole story, she slowly blew out a breath, then said,"Okay, you know how my brother isn't around a lot?"

"Yeah." Nicky said with a nod. "I think the last time I saw him was my ninth birthday party. I remember he showed up late and wasn't there for very long, but he brought me this." She added as she picked up a small giraffe plush toy from the bed. She had always kept the toy near since he gave it to her, hoping it would help when she began to miss Baylor.

"Oh yeah!" Noelle exclaimed as she took the soft toy from her hand. She remembered that day, like Nicky mentioned, he had shown up late to the party, but what she didn't know was he was high as a kite and out of his mind.

After eating most of the food and dropping the cake on the floor, Danny and Joe led Baylor outside to talk. They tried to talk him into checking in somewhere and getting help, but Baylor refused, saying there was nothing wrong with him, he was just having a good time.

She remembered Jamie tried to keep her inside, knowing that seeing her brother like that upset her, but she had got past him to run out to Baylor. She tried to plead with him to let Danny and Joe take him somewhere. She remembered the tears raining down her face as she told him all she wanted was for him to get better and to come home- all she wanted was her brother back.

He had stepped forward, trying to shush her as he gave her a hug. He had never liked seeing his sister cry- it always felt like a stab in the heart when he saw the tears and knew they were because of him.

Finally he told her okay, he would go somewhere and get help, but first he needed to use the bathroom. Minutes later, when he didn't join back up with them, Jamie checked and the bathroom was empty. Baylor had escaped out the open window.

She should have known he wouldn't keep his word, it was too easy, but she wanted to believe he meant it this time. She didn't see him again until right before she moved to Florida. He had showed up like nothing had happened, like he hasn't been hiding out for two years. He had wanted money, though he swore it wasn't for drugs, and promised he would come back the following week to pay her back. She, of course, never saw him the following week or got her money back.

Coming out of the memory, she looked over at Nicky and grew serious,"There's something about Baylor we never told you, but I think you're old enough to know the truth now."

She handed her the toy back, before adding,"Baylor has problems with drugs. He's an addict and no matter what we've all tried to do, he refuses to get help. The reason you don't see him often is because he's usually hiding out somewhere, either strung out on something or coming down from something while waiting for his next fix.

"With going so long without seeing him, sometimes the worst case scenarios cross my mind." She continued. "I remember every time the phone would ring, my heart would drop, because I was so terrified it was someone calling to say something has happened and we need to come ID a body."

She slowly shook her head, looking down at the comforter instead of Nicky. "There are times I'm still scared about getting that call."

"I remember when Mom got the call about Uncle Joe." Nicky quietly said, causing her to raise her head to look at her. The tears in her eyes mirrored her own. "I could tell right away from the look on her face that something was wrong- that something bad had happened."

"I know that had to be hard." Noelle said, grabbing one of her hands to give it a squeeze. She remembered getting her own phone call from Jamie after Joe's death. The phone had slipped out of her hand as her knees went out and she crumbled to the floor sobbing. It was one of the worst days of her life.

"Like the call your mom got that day, I never want my mom to get a call like that." She stated, getting back to the reason she choose to be a medical examiner. "So, I decided from an early age, I was going to try to prevent that from happening. I thought that maybe- if that horrible day ever happened, if I was the first one on the scene, if I was the first one to see him... maybe I could tell his story and tell it in a way that it'll help my parents deal with it all better- maybe I could make it not hurt as much."

Feeling more tears fill her eyes, Noelle sniffed and quickly blinked them back. "So, yeah, that's why I became a ME. Because I'm terrified of getting a phone call that is going to destroy my world."

Nicky nodded her head in understanding, then gave Noelle's hand a squeeze like she did hers earlier. "I hope you never get a call like that."

"Me too." Noelle said back, her voice barely above a whisper.

She was dreading the day she got a call about someone she loved being hurt or worse, and that feeling become worse when Jimmie came around. She was constantly worried about her loved ones now. It was bad enough when Spencer was stabbed, but if something were to happen to someone else, she wasn't sure if she could handle it.

•••

After her talk with Nicky, she headed home for the day. She had offered to hang out with the teenager so she wouldn't be alone, but she assured her she would be okay until her mother got home.

Noelle would have tried to argue and stick around, but she was drained after her day at work and the emotional talk the two had. Plus from her talk earlier with Erin, she knew she was planning to leave work earlier and get home to her daughter.

For now, all Noelle wanted was to change into her most comfortable pajamas and eat in front of the television until it was late enough to crash for the night and not be teased by Spencer for being old and turning in too early.

"Hey." Noelle greeted as she walked into the apartment and saw Spencer and Daisy sitting on the couch watching a news report. She saw a picture of the girl she did an autopsy on earlier that day appeared on the screen with the words- _Breaking New: Strangled Girl Found in Dumpster._

She saw Spencer throw up his hand, never looking away from the television as she slipped off her high heels and left her bag by the door. She walked over to the couch, laying her hands on the back of it as she said,"Hey, that's the girl from Danny's case."

Without saying a word, Spencer reached out to grab the remote and turned up the volume as the reporter began to say," _In a breaking news update, the body of an unidentified teenage girl was found outside an upscale New York City hotel. Anonymous sources say the police have no leads and have not yet identified the scantily clad victim."_

"I wonder if Danny knows about this." She wondered out loud while Spencer turned the volume back down.

"Maybe he released it?" Spencer suggested. "We've had to do that before on cases. It makes us look bad for a minute- like we can't do our jobs, but at least we have a better shot at finding out who the person is, which gets us closer to the killer."

"Yeah, makes sense." Noelle said. "I mean, the girl was obviously loved and taken care of, so you would think someone missed her, but I ran her prints through Missing Persons and didn't get a hit."

"Your buddy Danny probably hit a wall and figured this was his best shot at finding out her identity."

"Probably." She said with a small nod. "I tried to call him earlier with the results from the autopsy, but he didn't answer. Unfortunately, it won't help with who she is, but maybe it can help him find the killer."

"From what you told me about him, I had no doubt he won't rest until he gets that creep off of the streets." He said as he began to flip through the channels to find something to watch.

"Yeah, you're right." She said as she pushed back from the couch. "And he'll find his own Danny-way of doing it."

As he chuckled at her comment, she called out that she would be back, then she went down the hall into her bedroom to change into a pair of her favorite lounge pants and a loose fit Harvard t-shirt from her college days- correction; one of Jamie's that she stole back during their college days.

Walking back into the living room, she stood behind the couch like before and leaned forward when another news report came on. This one outside a blazing house that firefighters were working hard to put out and to keep from spreading to other properties beside it.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

"There's a bad house fire in the Bronx." Spencer answered.

"Oh, no. I hope no one is hurt." Noelle said with a concern look on her face.

"According to the news, it was abandoned, but the house did attract squatters." He said, repeating what the reporter said earlier before she walked back into the room.

"So, was anyone in the house?" She questioned.

"A cop." Spencer answered. "The report said there was a call-in about a possible body inside, so a couple of cops showed up to check and the house caught on fire. At the moment it is looking like arson."

After the reporter on the scene finished talking, they began to roll a clip from earlier when a cop was pulled out of the basement window. Catching a quick glimpse of the person's face before an oxygen mask was placed on him, she felt her heart beating wildly in her chest as she tried to pull in a breath and felt like she was about to pass out. She would recognize him anywhere.

Hearing her ragged breathing, Spencer turned his head to look at her, seeing her body began to slightly shake and her eyes were wide with panic. He saw her face pale as she gripped on to the back of the couch, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to speak, but only gasp came out instead.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking." He said, knowing she was assuming the worst about someone she cares about. "But, there is no proof that it's-"

"Jamie." She breathed out. Her voice went in and out as she added,"It's-It's Jamie."

Spencer turned back to look at the television and felt his mouth drop open in surprise when the camera zoomed in on a person being wheeled toward an ambulance with Danny walking along with them- it was now clear to see that person was Jamie Reagan.

"Elle..." He jumped up from the couch and went around to the back where she was standing. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he said,"Elle, take a deep breath. You have to calm-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She cut him off as she slapped his hands away. Stumbling a few steps back, she tried to speak,"I gotta- I got to go... I have to... Jamie..."

He opened his mouth to tell her to wait, she was in no condition to drive, but before he could utter a word, they heard her cell phone ring. He saw her rush over to her bag, almost tripping over her own feet as she tried to get to the phone as quickly as possible.

Seeing who the call was from, she answered it and placed the phone against her ear as she called out,"Danny? Danny, is Jamie-"

"He's okay." Danny cut her off before she could go into a full-fledged panic. He had hoped to talk to her before she heard about it on the news, but from her reaction, he could tell he was too late. Now all he could do was try to calm her down and ease her mind. "He's at the hospital right now and they're running test on him and doing blood work. He's in good hands."

"So, he's-he's okay though, right?" Noelle asked as she laid a hand over heart and tried to catch her breath. Having him avoid her was hard enough, but at least he was still there and there was a chance at making things right. If Jamie was suddenly not in her life at all- if she ever lost him in that way, she honestly wouldn't be able to go on without him. He had been a constant in her life for twenty-two years, he was her very best friend and the person she was so very in love with.

"Yeah, but you still might wanna come to the hospital." Danny suggested, knowing she would never fully calm down until she saw him for herself. Plus he had a feeling, regardless of what was going on between them before, his brother would want her there.

"Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can." She said, after he told her which hospital he was at.

She ended the call then turned toward the door, surprised to see Spencer standing by it holding her bag and keys. He nodded toward the door,"Come on. I'm driving."

"Spence, you don't have to-"

"Don't." He simple said, cutting her off. "You are in no condition to drive, and plus, this gives you a chance to fall apart on the way there, then pull yourself together so you can be brave for him."

"I can't lose him, Spence." She quietly admitted as tears filled her eyes. "He's been my best friend since I was four years old... I don't even know a life without Jamie. I mean, it was hard enough living away from him when I was in Florida, but I could at least talk to him if I needed to, but this-" Her voice went out as she tried to hold back a sob.

"Hey..." Spencer said as he walked over to her. He laid his hands on her shoulders like before, seeing that she was about to fall apart. He tried to think of what to say to her- a quote or a phrase that would make everything okay, but nothing came to mind.

Instead he pulled her into his arms as the tears finally broke through and she cried on his shoulder- taking a minute to fall apart before telling herself she needed to be strong. She just hoped she could be strong enough and be his rock- the way he had always been hers.

•••

"Danny!" Noelle called out as she rushed into the hospital and spied him standing in the middle of a waiting room.

After her break down in the living room, she tried to pull it together- tried to be strong like she promised herself she would be, but during the drive to the hospital, she kept going over every memory in her mind that involved Jamie.

She thought of their past and all the times he was there for her to ease her fears or wipe away the tears, then she thought of their future and how she hoped it would be, but the thought of him not being a part of it at all caused fresh tears to fill her eyes. As dramatic as it sounded; she couldn't live without him.

Danny turned toward her voice and opened his mouth to greet her, but before he could, she had crashed into him, throwing her arms around him and began to ask question after question- like how Jamie was doing, what did the doctor say, when could they see him and so on.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Danny said as he ended the hug and pulled back to look at her. "He's okay, Little Bit. I swear, he's fine, but we both know it's not gonna do him any good to see you like this."

Noelle nodded her head and blew out a breath, she knew he was right. Seeing her upset would just make things worse for Jamie, he would hate to see her that way and she needed to be brave for him.

"Can I see him?" She questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. She believed him, but she just needed to see Jamie for herself.

"Yeah, follow me." Danny said, leading them toward a bank of elevators. Once they were inside and he pushed a button for the fifth floor, he added,"They moved him to a room not long ago. They said he's resting comfortably."

"What else did the doctor say?" Spencer asked, knowing it was a question Noelle would ask if she was in the right frame of mind.

"He's lucky." Danny said, speaking to both of them. "He never came into close contact with the fire, so there's no burn marks, but he does have some small cuts on his face and hands from when the window was broke."

"What about his throat and lungs?" Noelle questioned, finally finding her voice. Her mind was going over any autopsies she had done on people who died from smoke inhalation. Usually it wasn't even the fire itself that caused the death, but the smoke and gases inhaled that caused respiratory failure due to lack of oxygen.

"His throat is sore and irritated, but it's not swollen. Same with his lungs and they said there is no infection or fluid in 'em. But there's some smoke in his lungs." When he saw her eyes widen and she opened her mouth to speak, he quickly cut her off,"But the doctor said he's confident it's not enough to cause any permanent damage and he'll be okay with treatment. It helped that he kept his mouth covered and they started him on oxygen as soon as he was pulled out."

"But he's really okay?" Noelle asked, needing to be sure. She just needed to keep hearing those words, she had to know that he was alive and doing fine.

"He's really okay." Danny said back, needing to say it as much as she needed to hear it.

"So, what exactly happened?" Spencer asked as the elevator reached the floor and the doors opened. "The news said arson." He added as the three walked out of the elevator.

"Danny..." Noelle said, coming to a stop and reaching out to grab his arm to stop him. She wrapped her arms around herself as she quietly asked,"Was it Jimmie?"

Danny looked away from her for a moment as he debated on what to tell her. He knew the truth would just worry her more, but he hated not being honest with her. Plus, he knew regardless of what he told her, her mind would race and come up with her own conclusions, which wasn't good for her either.

Making a decision, he reached into his pocket to pull out Jamie's cell phone, planning to show her the pictures he took minutes before all hell broke loose. He figured that would explain things more than he could.

"Jamie found this in the basement." He said, handing her the phone. He could tell as soon as she began to flip through the pictures when he heard her gasp.

Her hands began to shake more and more after each picture she looked at. She didn't know what shocked her more; the mannequin that eerily looked like her, the familiar message Jimmie left for Jamie, or the pictures of her and Jamie having a private moment.

Danny waited until she was finished and Spencer began to look at the pictures, before he added,"Of course, because of the fire, all of that is gone now and the pictures-"

"Aren't proof enough." Spencer finished for him.

Realizing it was something Erin would say, he looked over at him as he playfully asked,"Have you been talking to my sister?"

Spencer chuckled at the comment then said,"No. I just dealt with my fair share of lawyers in the past."

"So, I guess all of this was just a setup for Jamie." Noelle softly said as her eyes began to water. "This was my fault."

"No, it's not." Spencer argued as he grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward him. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him,"All of this- everything that has happened in Florida and everything happening now; is his fault. It's all Jimmie's fault, Elle, not yours."

"He's right." Danny spoke up, getting her attention. "And when we catch him- and trust me, we will; he's going to pay for everything he has done."

Noelle nodded her head at their words, but didn't respond back. A part of her knew they were right, this was all Jimmie's fault, but there was another part of her- the part that couldn't stop thinking about Jamie being trapped in a burning basement, that couldn't stop blaming herself. She brought this into his life, if she would have stayed away from him, if she would have just kept him as a good friend, then Jimmie never would have set his sights on him.

"I'm heading back to the scene." Danny said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "See what we can find... he's got to make a mistake at some point and when he does, I'm gonna be all over him."

"I would like to assist you, if that's okay?" Spencer asked. He knew Noelle would be fine once she was with Jamie, and he would rather be out there doing something, then sitting around a hospital feeling helpless.

"Yeah, thanks." Danny said, nodding his head at him. "We could use help searching the area. In case he is hiding out somewhere nearby."

"I doubt he will be." Spencer said. "He's not the type to stick around and see what kind of chaos he created. He's probably already off putting his next plan in motion."

"That's what I was afraid of." Danny said as he breathed out in frustration. "Well, still, you've dealt with him before and might can pick up on something we missed- so I'll still appreciate the help." He added to the other man.

Spencer nodded his head in thanks, then turned to look at Noelle to ask,"You'll be okay here, right?"

"Yeah, I just want to get to Jamie, but you two go ahead." She answered honestly.

"His room is right down there." Danny said, pointing down the hall before telling her the room number. "The rest of the family is on the way, so you won't be completely alone."

"Okay." She mouthed as she nodded her head.

After telling them to be careful and hugged them bye, she made her way down the hall, then stopped in front of the door that would take her to Jamie. She pulled in a breath, trying to control her racing heart, then blew it out as she opened the door and stepped into the room.

She bit her bottom lip to hold back a sob, then quickly blinked back the fresh tears that filled her eyes to clear her vision of him laying in a hospital bed with tubes and wires hooked up to him. She wiped any remaining tears from her face before walking closer to the bed.

Coming to a stop beside him, she looked down at him- his eyes closed and his face relaxed. If it wasn't for the oxygen tube up his nose, the faint smell of smoke, and the cuts on his face, she could almost convince herself that nothing had happened and he was just taking a nap, but she knew better.

She reached out to softly run a finger over his hand, careful of the cuts that Danny had warned her about, her eyes shifted up to look at his face again, watching him breathe in and out as he slept.

She knew he needed his rest, but she couldn't stop herself from leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his cheek, before resting her forehead against the side of his head. She just needed to be near him, to touch him and thank God he was still here with her.

Hearing him pull in a deep breath, she pulled back and saw him slowly open his eyes. When he saw her standing above him, he gave her a sleepy smile before mumbling out a hello.

"Hey." Noelle quietly said back as she ran her fingers through his hair, then lovingly touched the side of his face. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"S'okay." Jamie slurred as he tried to wake himself up- the medicine they had given him was making him feel drowsy. "I wanted to see you."

"Well, I'm right here, Jamie." She said, causing him to smile at her words. Laying a hand on the side of his face, she added,"So, why don't you get some more sleep and then-"

"No." He mumbled as he reached up to lay his hand on top of hers. He removed it from his cheek to kiss the inside of her wrist, before he added,"I need to talk to you. I need to tell you I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." She said with a shake of the head. She wasn't sure if he was trying to apologize for what happened to him, which was crazy since it wasn't his fault, or if he was apologizing for avoiding her lately- which in her opinion now was completely forgiving. None of that mattered to her now.

With his hand still holding hers, he lightly tugged on it as he whispered,"Come here."

She lowered her eyebrows in confusion, until she saw him scoot over some and hold the blanket up. She thought about arguing with him for a moment, until she realized she needed this as much as he did. She needed to be as close to him as possible and feel his arms around her- it had been too long in her opinion.

Without another thought, she kicked off her shoes, then carefully crawled into the bed with him. She made sure she wasn't tugging on any of the tubes or wires hooked up to him, then once she was comfortably lying beside him, she laid an arm across his stomach and placed her head on his chest.

She closed her eyes, feeling him lazily ran his fingers through her hair, and listened to his heart beat- which in a time like this, was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

This was one of her biggest fears- that because of her and her feelings for him, that Jimmie would come after him. She wished this was it, she wished Jimmie would strike just once, then give up, but she knew that wasn't the case. He hasn't given up on her, which meant anyone she loved was constantly in danger.

"Jamie..." Noelle quietly said, seeing if he was still awake.

"Hmm?" Jamie muttered as he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

"For as long as I can remember, this is all I wanted..." She began to say. She tightened her arm across his stomach, before adding,"Being here with you like this... I mean, not in a hospital, but I mean, being with you. You know, like-like in a relationship, a more than friends, sorta way. All I've wanted since I was a little girl was start a life with you..."

Her voice trailed off as tears began to fill her eyes at the next thing she had to say. Hearing her sniff, caused him to open his eyes and snap awake. He tried to shift around so he could see her better, but all he could do was look down at her head as she continue to lay on his chest.

"Nol..." His voice low and a bit hoarse. He felt his heart begin to race, he had a bad feeling where this conversation was going.

"But, I'm being selfish- I'm putting my dreams above your life and I can't do that, Jamie. If I keep holding on to you, it's going to cost you your life." She softly said as the tears spilled from her eyes.

He closed his eyes against her words, feeling the thin fabric of the gown he had on catching her tears. He tightened his fingers in her hair and pulled back, causing her to raise her head to look at him, before he said,"Nol, don't do this-"

"Jamie, you could have died." She cut him off with a sob. "Because of me, you were trapped in a basement and almost died, and he's not going to stop. Jimmie is not going to stop trying to remove you from my life."

"Then we'll stop him." He stated. "We'll do it as a team, we're J-Boy and Kid Kelley, remember? And we'll get through this together just like everything else we have come across since we were kids."

"Jamie, this is completely different from solving little crimes in our neighborhood or dealing with crappy relationships and roommates." She pointed out as she sat up some beside him and leaned back on her arm. "This is life and death-"

"I don't care. You're not ending things. I'm not letting you just walk away from us."

"Trust me, I don't want to-"

"Then don't!" He stated. "I can't lose you, Nol."

"And you won't." She said back. "You'll always be my best friend, Jamie-"

"And you're mine." He interrupted. "But, I can't just go back to being just friends with you, 'cause I'm-"

"Jamie-" She cut him off, trying to argue her point.

"In love with you." He finished, causing her to shut up.

"You're what?" She breathed out. "Wh-What did you just say?"

"I said, I'm in love with you." Jamie repeated. He laid a hand on the side of her face as he lightly ran his thumb across her bottom lip,"I love you, Nol."

Seeing that she was still speechless, he smiled,"And I don't mean as a friend- although I do love you in that way as well, but I mean 100% head over heels, completely crazy in love with you."

She chuckled at his comment, then laid a hand on top of his, before kissing the palm of his hand. She turned her head to look at him,"How do I know this isn't just the meds talking?"

"'Cause these feelings didn't just hit me today. I've been feeling them for a while." He explained. "So, if you need me to tell you again later when I'm off the meds, I will. If you need me to tell you every day, even several times a day, I can do that too. Or if you're not ready to hear them, if it's too soon for you, I can take it back and say it when you're ready-"

"Don't." She cut him off as she laid a finger against his lips to stop him from talking. With a smile, she added,"Don't take it back."

He smiled back at her, then tangled his fingers in her hair to pull her toward him for a gentle kiss. If it wasn't for everything being hooked up to him, he would love to lean her back against the bed and show her how strong his feelings were for her, but that would have to wait until later.

"Jamie..." She breathed, before rubbing her nose against his. She heard him mutter out a hum as she lightly touched her lips against his. With her lips inches from his, she whispered out,"I love you too."

He smiled at hearing those words coming from her mouth, then rested his forehead against hers,"You know, I never thought this would be the way we say it."

"Me either." She said with a chuckle. She pulled back to look at him, laying her hands on either side of his face,"But, I wouldn't trade this moment for anything."

"Same here." He agreed. "It kinda makes sense though, I guess."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Well, you remember- like a week before your eleventh birthday, I had that bad allergic reaction to olives and had to go to the hospital?"

"Oh, God, yes!" She exclaimed. "I was so terrified and I thought that waiter was about to cry when my dad got all in his face for forgetting to leave them out of the salad."

Her parents had taken her out to dinner to celebrate her coming in second at her school's spelling bee. She had asked them if she could invite Jamie- who had come in third. Her mother had told the waiter to leave olives out of all the salads just to be safe, but apparently the young guy had forgotten, which was made clear minutes later when Jamie began wheezing for breath.

"I remember that... well, I remember hearing about it afterwards." He said with a chuckle. "But, the part I do remember- the part that always stood out, was laying in a bed like this and when I woke up, you were in the bed with me."

"I thought my parents were gonna ground me forever for that. I was supposed to be in the waiting room with them, but I slipped out to find your room." Turning her head to look at him, she added,"And I saw you laying there alone- your mom and dad had just arrived and were down the hall talking to the doctor, and I didn't want you to wake up alone, so I got into the bed with you."

"By the time I came to, you were sound asleep on my shoulder, with your hand wrapped around mine." He said, smiling at the memory. "And in that moment, I realized that I always wanted your head on my shoulder and your hand in mine. It was that moment that I realized you were more than just my best friend."

"And then a week later you kissed me." She said, remembering that day like it was yesterday. For so long that was the best day of her life.

"A week later I kissed you." He repeated with a nod. "Then I didn't do anything else for fifteen years."

"Well, you were always slow, Jams." She joked.

"Ha-ha." He said sarcastically as he tapped the end of her nose."And that's not our only hospital moment."

"What was the other one?" She asked with a curious look on her face.

"The other one is a little more recent." He began to say. "I know you remember when Dad was shot."

"Yeah." She softly said. Her face fell as she added,"God, that was an awful day too."

"Yeah, it was." He agreed with a nod. "But, there was this one moment... we were talking and I was looking at you- like really looking at you and it hit me; I was in love with you."

As she smiled at his words, he added,"But, then I felt like that wasn't the right time, you know? Then I was worried it was too soon to say it and I would scare you off or something."

"I think with us, it's never too soon." She pointed out. "Plus, everyone seems to think we've basically been in love with each other since we were kids."

"That's true." He said with a nod. "At least we finally realized it."

"Yeah, and at least it didn't take you another fifteen years to say it." She joked. "You're learning, babe."

"About time, huh?" He asked, kidding around with her.

She nodded her head, a chuckle escaping her lips. Thinking about the stories he told, she paused for a moment, then said,"So, wait, does this mean the hospital is like- our place?"

"It does seem like it." He answered.

"Ugh, I really hope not." She groaned. "I honestly don't think I can take any more days like this."

"Me either." He softly said as he remembered the terrifying incident. For one moment, he really didn't think he was going to make it out of there. He thought his life was over and he would never see his family or get to hold the woman he loves ever again.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt her kiss several places on his face, not realizing she was kissing each scratch mark from when the glass from the window cut him. She laid a hand on one side of his face, then rested her forehead against the side of his head, her mouth inches from his ear.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, having her so close chased away the bad memories and calmed him. He sent out a silent prayer, thanking God for sparing him, and giving him a second chance. He was thankful that the future he imagined for them could still be a reality and he was especially thrilled he had another shot to make things right with her.

"I'm sorry." Noelle whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry for bringing all of this mess into your life, for making things worse-"

"You didn't mess up anything, Nol." He interrupted as he pulled back to look at her. "You've made my life better... every single day since you came into it twenty-two years ago."

"So you wouldn't change a thing?" She quietly asked.

"Not a thing." He said with a head shake. He thought about the question for a moment, then added,"Well, maybe one thing..."

"What?" She asked as she lowered her eyebrows in concern.

"I would have told you I love you earlier." He said, causing her to smile. "Like, maybe fifteen years earlier."

"Well, like I said, you are slow, Jams." She joked, causing him to laugh before he got choked up and started to cough, quickly reminding them why they were there.

She turned toward the table, grabbing a cup of water, then turned back to hand it to him. She laid a hand on his back to rub it as he took a few sips.

"You should lay back and rest more." Noelle suggested. "The others are on the way." She knew once the rest of the Reagan gang arrived, it would be harder for him to sleep with everyone crowding around and talking.

"Will you stay with me?" Jamie questioned, the look on his face reminded her of when he was a kid and would ask her something. She could never tell him no then and she definitely didn't plan to say no now either.

"Of course." She breathed out. She kissed the side of his head, before softly adding in his ear,"I'm not going anywhere, Jamie."

He smiled at her words and closed his eyes with a content sigh. The two were quiet for a moment, before he spoke up- his raspy voice breaking the silence.

"I really am sorry, Nol."

She pulled back to look at him,"Jamie, I told you- you don't have to apologize-"

"No, I do." He interrupted her. "I'm sorry for being an idiot and overreacting about Spencer."

"You had every reason to be mad at me." She said. "I really screwed that up."

"No, I just... you were right, I was jealous." He softly admitted. "But, I know I shouldn't be. Honestly, he seems like a great guy, and I really can't complain about the person who saved your life. I dunno, I guess, I was just used to being-"

"My superhero." She finished for him. Giving him a smile, she laid a hand on the side of his face,"You'll always be my J-Boy, Jams."

He chuckled at her comment, then said,"And you're my Kid Kelley, Nol."

The two smiled at each other for a moment, before she grew serious, remembering something he told her the night they briefly talked outside the hotel.

"Jamie, I want you to know, I do still need you. I do still look at you to save me like you have a million times in the past." She leaned forward to kiss his forehead, then pulled back with a hand still on the side of his face. She looked him in the eyes as she quietly added,"You're my everything, Jamie Reagan."

He softly smiled at her words, then closed the gap between them to press his lips against hers for a tender kiss. Deep down, he knew that- he knew he was being ridiculous for feeling threatened or jealous over someone else. But he couldn't deny it was nice to hear the words from her lips.

As much as he loved hearing the words- 'I love you'- from her, and God did he love hearing that; but hearing that he was her everything, that she needed him and knowing that wouldn't change, was really all he needed to hear. Hearing that meant more to him than she would ever know.

•••

 _A/N; So thankfully Jamie is okay and the babies are not fighting anymore- plus there was the whole 'I love you' thing, but no big deal, right? lol. Unfortunately, we all know Jimmie is not gonna stop anytime soon tho._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and adding the story. Big thanks to traceyaudette, lilnightmare17, werks, jlmayer, keenler-mcswarek-girl, mcgeeksgirl, Daniel Reagan, High Gaurdian, BLBLF, peace486, Guest- Anica, Guest, Fanficqueen306, Sage Londyn, BTR14, Love. Fiction. 2016, DaniNatureGirl391 and Eddie Reagan for reviewing. Also, wanted to thank January Lily- who is now all caught up; thank you for all the reviews, hon._

 _Also, I wanted to take a moment to say, I am in awe at all the reviews. You guys have given this story 400+ reviews. I am speechless and can not thank you all enough! It makes me happy to know so many love this story as much as I do.  
_

 _Happy reading!  
xx_


	26. Pinky Promise

**26; Pinky Promise**

"Salty, sweet. Salty, sweet." Noelle muttered to herself as she jingled the change in her hand and looked at the rows of chips, crackers and candy bars in the vending machine in front of her.

Once the rest of the Reagan crew showed up, she stood off to the side for a moment, giving them all a chance to greet Jamie. Then once everyone took a seat around the room, she flashed Jamie a smile and nodded toward the door, letting him know she would be back later after giving him a chance to visit with the family alone.

She knew none of them would mind her being around- she was family in their eyes, but not only did she want to give them all a moment alone, she also felt like she needed a few minutes to herself.

She was forever grateful he was okay, she had sent out many silent prayers after seeing him with her own eyes, but that didn't stop her from thinking about how close she came to losing him.

Earlier that day, she had told Nicky that she never wanted to get a call that destroyed her world, but in one heart pounding moment, that is exactly what almost happened.

When she saw his face on the news report, she had hoped she was just imagining things, but once Danny called she knew it was true and in that moment she couldn't help but remember the call she got about Joe and assumed the worst.

Coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway, she placed the heel of her hands against her eyes, holding back the fresh tears before taking a few staggering steps backwards until her back touched the wall.

Feeling her knees go weak, she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor with her legs pulled close to her. She told herself over and over that things were okay; Jamie was okay, but she couldn't stop that little voice in her head that told her this wasn't over- they were not safe.

If he knew the thoughts going through her head now, she knew what he would say- he would reassure her that no matter what Jimmie threw their way they could get through it. He would promise her that no matter what she would not lose him, just like he had done since they were kids

 _\- Flashback -_

 _Noelle reached up to wipe the wet tears from her cheeks as the movie she and Jamie were watching came to an end. It was one of her favorite movies, she had seen it countless of times in her eleven years of life, but the ending always made her sad._

 _Most of the time she made Jamie turn it off before they made it to the end or either just pretended the ending never happened. She liked to believe the cartoon fox and cartoon hound stayed young and remained friends forever._

 _"Are you crying again?" Jamie asked as he turned the movie off._

 _"No." She lied as she wiped away the last few remaining tears from her eyes._

 _"Nol, why do we keep watching The Fox and the Hound if it always makes you cry?" He questioned, not understanding why she keeps doing this to herself. If something made him sad, he would stop watching it._

 _"'Cause it's a cute movie!" She argued. "Mostly when Copper and Tod are young and became friends for the first time. It's just sad toward the end when that stupid jerk hunter and Copper are hunting Tod."_

 _"Yeah, but Copper steps up and has his back in the end." He pointed out._

 _"But, they never get to really hang out again and be friends like before." She argued._

 _As he click the button to rewind the movie, she was lost in thought for a moment, before asking,"What if that happens to us?"_

 _"What?" He asked as a chuckle escaped his lips. He turned to look at her, before adding,"Are you really asking me this? Come on, Nol, you know you're my best friend."_

 _"Tod and Copper were best friends once too and look what happened to them when they got older." She said, motioning toward the television set. "What if that is us when we get older?"_

 _"It won't." He stated. "It's a Disney movie, Nol. It's not real life."_

 _"What about Wizard of Oz?" She asked._

 _"Did you really compare our friendship to a movie you hate?" He asked with a laugh._

 _"When she leaves Oz, she leaves her new friends behind... " She paused for a moment, before mumbling,"Or something like that."_

 _Honestly, she never really paid attention to the movie, she mostly squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to see the weird little people singing and dancing or the spooky flying monkeys._

 _"That doesn't really count though because it was all basically a dream. The friends she made were people she already knew anyways."_

 _"Oh. Is that what happened?"_

 _"Yeah, imagine what you learn when you actually pay attention to a movie." He joked._

 _"Shut up." She laughed before playfully punching him in the arm. "But still, we're getting older and things are changing, what if our friendship does too? I don't want to lose you, Jams." She couldn't stop her mind from going back to a couple of weeks ago, when he kissed her on her birthday. She thought it would be the start of something more between them, but then nothing else happened._

 _What if more things like that happened? What if feelings became stronger and it ruined everything?_

 _For the first week or so after he kissed her, he was a little different toward her, like he was holding back- maybe he was worried about giving her the wrong idea or something, but things felt different. It was just in the last day or so that he was beginning to act like her best friend again, it just sucked that he basically acted like the kiss never happened._

 _"And you won't, Nol. We're going to be friends forever." He said, turning toward her and grabbing her hands- something he hadn't done in a few weeks which caused a fluttering in her stomach and made her realize how badly she missed feeling his hands wrapped around her own.  
_

 _"You can't know that, you can't guarantee that." She said with a short shake of the head, before she looked down to their joined hands._

 _"Yes, I can." He argued. "Because you're more than just my best friend, Nol."_

 _"Really?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she raised her head to look at him- her heart racing as she wondered if he was about to admit he had the some kind of feelings for her that she has for him._

 _Hearing the hopeful tone of her voice, Jamie couldn't stop himself for glancing down to her lips and remembering the way his felt against hers when he kissed her recently. He wished he could lean forward and taste the cotton candy flavor lip balm she wore again. He could swear at times he could still taste it. He wanted to hold her face in his hands and tell her how he really felt, but he couldn't get his brother Joe's voice out of his head as he warned him to be careful._

 _The last thing he wanted to do was ruin things between them, which is why he put his feelings aside and buried them down deep, he told himself to only look at her as a friend, to put their friendship first- it was the only way to assure that their friendship would survive._

 _Jamie cleared his throat, then raised his eyes to look at her, before saying,"Yeah, I mean, you're-you're like family, you know? And family sticks together."_

 _"No one told Baylor that." Noelle muttered as she removed her hands from his and leaned back against the couch. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. She was happy that he felt that way about her, she felt the same about him- actually she felt more for him, she just wished he felt as strongly as she did._

 _"Nol, I'm not your brother." He pointed out. He reached out to grab her chin, forcing her to look at him as he softly added,"I'm not going anywhere."_

 _"Promise?" She whispered._

 _"I promise." He said back, his tone matching hers as he lightly ran his knuckles across her cheek before forcing himself to pull his hand away. If he was going to view her as just a friend, he couldn't touch her in that way._

 _She held up her hand with her pinky raised as she asked,"Pinky promise?"_

 _He chuckled at the question and he held up his own pinky, locking his with hers as he said,"Pinky promise."_

 _Noelle smiled at him before leaning forward to kiss the side of her hand as he kissed his, something they did to seal the deal for each promise. Jamie was pretty good about keeping his promises, but once he agreed to a pinky promise, she knew he would never break that._

 _As if knowing she needed the extra assurance, he added,"You can't get rid of me if you tried, Nol."_

 _\- End Flashback -_

Hearing footsteps coming toward her, she snapped her head up, her heart beating in her chest. She glanced from side to side, suddenly feeling like she was trapped with no way to escape as the steps got closer. She breathed out a sigh of relief when a doctor and nurse appeared in the hall. The two were so into the folder of a patient, that neither one noticed her sitting in the floor.

Standing up from the floor, she blew out a breath as Jimmie crossed her mind and the fear began to set in. She had thought after escaping him once and fleeing Florida, that she could finally be safe again, but she was starting to realize that would never be a reality. He was never going to leave her alone, he was never going to stop until he has her- she had no doubt once that happened then everyone she loved would finally be safe.

As if in a daze, she began to walk down the hall, just needing to walk and clear her mind. Next thing she knew, she was in front of a vending machine and pulling change from her pockets. She was still mumbling to herself minutes later, contemplating what kind of snack to get; ever though, honestly, she wasn't really hungry. She was basically just going through the motions and doing what she thought she should be doing.

She was so out of it, she never noticed anyone had walked up behind her until she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump until she saw Linda's reflection in the glass of the vending machine. She spun around, seeing the blonde hold up her hands as she quickly apologized for scaring her.

"It's okay." Noelle breathed out, brushing the apology aside. She knew the other woman never meant to scare her. "Is everything okay?" She asked concern, her mind automatically assuming the worst. What if Jamie had some kind of set back? What if the smoke in his lungs were worse than the doctors though?

Before her mind could race too much, Linda quickly shook her head,"Everything is fine." She gave her a smile, hoping to ease her mind, before she added,"I was just about to head out. I'm going to take the boys and Nicky home, then I'll be back."

"Oh okay." Noelle said as she released a sigh of relief- glad that she was completely wrong with her thoughts. Returning the smile, she said,"I know Jamie's grateful for you all being here."

Linda gave her a short nod, then said,"We're all just glad he's okay." Seeing how badly the close call was affecting her, she added,"He is okay, Noelle."

"I know. I just..." She began to say as she swept her hands to the side before dropping them with a helpless sigh.

"I know." Linda said back, understanding what she was trying to say. Laying a hand on her shoulders, she added,"But, you didn't lose him."

"You know, when Jamie first called me and told me he was joining the academy, I was so proud of him... I still am." Noelle quietly said. "But, in the back of my mind, there was always that fear you know, that something bad could happen to him. I know he takes all the precautions to ensure he'll be safe, but sometimes no matter what you do, bad things happen to good people."

"Sadly, sometimes it does." Linda said with a nod, agreeing with her. "But all we can do is pray and be there for the ones we love. I always say a small prayer when Danny leaves for work and I know he's going to do whatever he can to come home to me and the boys."

"What about those times that Danny takes one of his stupid risk?" Noelle questioned, knowing the older Reagan had a habit of taking the law into his own hands.

"Oh, don't get me started on those." Linda scoffed with an eye roll. "In those moments, he gets a slap upside the head and a reminder of what he could have lost. I've told him more than once he better never make me a widow."

Noelle nodded her head, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. She had no doubt that Danny would catch hell if one of his harebrained schemes ever resulted in him getting seriously injured. She liked to joke with him about his crazy ideas, but truthfully, after growing up with him, she knew that he knew how far to push things. He might put himself in danger at times, but he usually had an escape plan in mind. At the end of the day, all he wanted was to return home to his wife and kids- he knew that family was always the most important thing.

"Fortunately for you, you don't have to worry about Jamie putting himself in danger." Linda added as she flashed her a smile. "He's not an idiot like his big brother."

"True." Noelle said with a short laugh. Jamie was always the who thought before he reacted. In his opinion there was usually another way to go about something, she was usually the one dragging him into something growing up. Even now, it was because of her that he was in danger- she had once again pulled him in the middle of something.

Her face fell before she added,"He's not, but I'm the idiot putting him in danger."

"This not your fault." Linda stated as she laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Noelle shook her head at the words, no matter how many times she heard them, she just could not believe them. "Isn't it? I'm the reason Jimmie is here, I'm the reason he went after Jamie. This is never going to end, Jimmie is never going to stop-"

"He will." Linda interrupted. "Every cop in this city is looking for him- Danny is looking for him, and well, you know how Danny is. He won't give up until he's behind bars."

"I know." Noelle quietly said with a nod, she had no doubt Danny was putting a lot of time into catching Jimmie, something else she felt guilty about. "And I'm so grateful for everything he is doing, but I should have never brought him into this... him or Jamie-"

"You didn't bring anyone into this." Linda cut in. "We are all concern, we all want to help, because that's what family does, and Noelle, you are family. We are all in this together."

Noelle felt tears fill her eyes at her words as she gave her a nod and mouth out a thank you. As much as she hated involving anyone, she couldn't deny how nice it felt not having to deal with all of this alone like before.

Back in Florida, she felt like no one believed her and she had never felt as alone and lonely as she did then. There was no one she could talk to about it or no one to turn to in those terrifying moments, but now she was surrounding by so many loved ones- she was with family.

"I talked to Danny earlier, he and your detective friend didn't find anything at the crime scene, and they're on their way back to the hospital." Linda said, relaying the message to her.

Hoping to ease her mind, she added,"Also, I spoke to the nurse working this floor- I know her pretty well. We use to work together, she's a great nurse and she assured me she will keep a close eye on Jamie. She's also giving you permission to stay the night in his room."

"Thank you." Noelle breathed out. She was worried she would have to fight someone to let her stay in the room tonight- all she knew was she was not leaving his sight.

Linda smiled when the brunette rushed forward to give her a hug. She hugged her tight, then pulled away to tell her she would see her soon. She went to turn to walk away, until she saw Noelle step closer to the vending machine and go to put a quarter in. She came up behind her again and took the quarter from her hand to stop her. With the day she had, the last thing she needed was a bunch of junk food.

"What?" Noelle asked confused as she turned to face her, wondering why she was stealing her money.

"You need to take care of yourself. We don't want to see you in the hospital next." Linda lectured. "Get you some water, make sure you rest and eat-"

"That's what I was trying to do." Noelle pointed out as she motioned toward the vending machine.

"You need to eat something good." Linda added. "I had some beef stew cooking all day for dinner tonight, I'll bring it back with me. It wouldn't hurt us all to eat a good meal and you definitely need one. You need meat and vegetables." Knowing the way the brunette eats, she gestured toward the vending machine. "And not salt and chocolate."

"Yes, Mom." Noelle joked as she held out her hand for the change.

"I mean it, no junk food." Linda said, dropping the quarter in her hand.

"Now I suddenly know how your kids feel." Noelle said, causing the other woman to laugh as she turned to leave.

After pocketing the money, Noelle began to retrace her steps to get back to Jamie's room. She had just walked past a nurses' station when a random nurse flagged her down.

"You're here with Jameson Reagan, right?" The nurse, whose tag said Courtney, questioned.

"Yeah, why, is everything okay?" Noelle asked with a worried look, which only intensified when the nurse sat a bouquet of black roses with one green rose in the middle.

"A friend of his just dropped these off. He apologized that he couldn't stay, but he wanted him to know Jamie was on his mind." Courtney explained, repeating what the man told her when he dropped off the roses.

Mistaking the look on Noelle's face, she wrinkled her nose before adding,"I think the black is a little odd, but he said you two would understand."

"Y-Yeah. I understand." Noelle said, her voice low as her heart began to race the longer she stared at the roses. She raised her head to look at the nurse,"What-What did he look like? Was he kinda tall with a shaved head and brown eyes?"

"Yeah. He said he was a friend from out of town." Courtney said cheerfully. When she saw Noelle's eyes widen as she took a shaky step back, she lowered her eyebrows in concern,"Ma'am, are you okay?"

After getting a head nod in return, she added,"Are you sure? I can page a doctor to come check-"

"I'm-I'm fine." Noelle said, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat, trying to sound stronger than she felt as she repeated,"I'm fine."

"Okay." The nurse said, coming out from behind the desk. "I got to make my rounds, but if you need anything, let us know."

Noelle gave her a nod of thanks, not trusting herself to speak as the friendly nurse walked away. She glanced around, swearing she could feel eyes on her or maybe she was just paranoid. She pulled in a deep breath, hoping to pull herself together as she took a small step back toward the roses.

She glanced around the desk for a moment, spying a box of kleenex and grabbed a tissue from it. She held it in her hands as she reached out to pull out the green rose. She wasn't that surprised to find a small note attached to it with the word ' _together_ ' wrote on it. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion, remembering the other two roses she received, the sentence didn't make sense.

Seeing another note, this one attached to the black ribbon wrapped around the vase. With tissue in hand, she grabbed it, seeing Jamie's name on the front of it. Her breathing was ragged as she flipped the paper over and read the message he left for Jamie- _'Sorry I missed you. Next time I won't.'_

The words began to blur as tears filled her eyes. To anyone else, the message could have been taken as nice, but she knew that wasn't the way it was intended. This was proof that he wasn't done, that he would come after Jamie again, which was her fear all along.

Hearing a familiar voice call out her name, she turned her head, seeing Spencer and Danny walking toward her. The latter had a disappointed look on his face as he shook his head, planning to tell her they didn't find anything, until he saw the scared look on her face, causing him to quicken his pace toward her with Spencer following along behind him.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked as the two men came to a stop in front of her.

"Jimmie was here." Noelle softly said, holding out the note for them to read.

"Damn it." Danny swore to himself after he and Spencer read the words- the message was clear to them both. "How the hell did he get in here? We had someone posted on this floor."

"He's sneaky and easily overlooked. It's the same shit he pulled in Florida." Spencer explained as he rested his hands on his hips, feeling the same annoyance from the first time he dealt with Jimmie. Turning his head toward Noelle, he asked,"How long ago was this dropped off?"

"I didn't think to ask." Noelle said with a shake of the head, mad at herself for not asking. "But, the nurse said he just dropped them off, so maybe-"

"Maybe he's still here." Danny cut in as he grabbed his gun from the holster. "And if he's still here-"

"Maybe we can corner him." Spencer spoke up while grabbing a gun from the waistband of his jeans. Danny had loaned him a gun earlier and he had stuck it in the back of his pants after arriving at the hospital.

"Stay put." Danny called out to Noelle as he and Spencer raced down the hallway.

Spencer called out to a nurse to lock down the hospital before he took the stairs up to check the next floor, while Danny went down a flight of stairs and called in backup to help check all the floors and watch the exits.

Noelle flagged down the nurse she spoke to earlier and asked for a bag big enough to put the roses in, then told her to wait for Danny to come back for it- she knew how this game went, there would be no prints, but the roses still need to be tested just in case.

She wrapped her arms around herself, fighting off a chill as she remembered both messages. She still didn't know what message he was trying to send her, but it was clear what the other message was about. He would come after Jamie again.

As that thought crossed her mind, her eyes widen as she turned to race toward his room. What if this was all a trick? What if this was never about the message, but a distraction?

"Jamie?" Noelle called out as she pushed the door open and stumbled inside the room.

"Hey." He said, opening his eyes and turning his head to look at her, a smile appearing on his face.

"Where is everyone?" She questioned while glancing around the empty room.

"Erin and Grandpa are on a coffee run and Dad got a work call." He answered, causing her to nod her head- she had a pretty good idea what the work call was about.

Seeing the worried look in her eyes, he pushed a button on the side to sit up more. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"How are you feeling?" Noelle questioned as she walked closer to the bed, standing at the end of it. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him, but she also wanted to be honest with him, she learned her lesson before with keeping information from him.

"Like you're trying to avoid the question." Jamie said back, knowing by the look on her face that something had happened since she left his room. "What's going on, Nol?"

"Jimmie left roses." She answered.

"For you?" He asked in concern as he tried to sit up further, until she rushed to his side and made him lay back against the pillows.

After making sure he was comfortable, she laid a hand on his shoulder, needing his strength as she said,"For me and you."

"What did yours say?" He asked.

"I'm more worried about your note." She stated as she sat down on the chair by the bed.

"And I'm more worried about yours." He said back. Plus he had a feeling what his message was. "I'm sure the message he left me was the same as before, he's trying to claim you as his again."

"No." She shook her head. "He's basically admitting he's going to come after you again."

"I figured as much." He softly said as he laid his head against the pillows. He wasn't naïve, he assumed Jimmie would keep coming after him until he was out of Noelle's life- which meant he would never give up since Jamie had no intentions of ever walking away from her.

He turned his head to look at her,"What did yours say?"

"Shouldn't we talk about yours more?" She questioned.

"No-"

"Jamie, he is going to come after you again and again until-"

"I know." He interrupted her like she did him. "I know he's not going to stop until he gets rid of me, but there's nothing we can really do other than catching him before he strikes again."

"And how are we going to do that? As you can tell, he's not that easy to catch." Noelle pointed out.

"He made a mistake before, he'll make one again and when he does, we'll be there to get him." Jamie said.

"Yeah, and that mistake was locking me in a house and almost killing me." She said back, her voice cracking as her emotions got the best of her. She couldn't go through that again, she didn't think she could survive a second time and she knew she couldn't handle Jamie having another close call.

"Hey..." He softly said as he reached out to lay a hand on top of hers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up and I swear, nothing like that is going to happen again. We will catch him before something like that happens again."

He pulled on her hand, wanting her to come closer, then rested his forehead against hers as he quietly whispered,"I promise I'll protect you, Nol."

She softly smiled at his words, then blew out a breathe, her voice barely above a whisper as she said one word,"Together."

"Right, we'll do this together." He said, pulling back to look at her, assuming that was what she meant.

"No." She softly said with a shake of the head. "That's the word he left me... it was a green rose with the word ' _together_ '."

"Oh." He said, putting the word to the rest of the words he had left- _'We Will Be Together'_. If his theory was correct, then his message wasn't finished and he had more to say.

"But, that doesn't make sense. The sentence doesn't make sense; We will together?" Noelle said as she scrunched up her face in thought. "It's like he forgot one, which is unusual for him-"

"He didn't." Jamie said so low she almost missed it.

"Wait, what?" She questioned as she looked over at him with a confused look on her face.

He cleared his throat and looked away from her as he admitted,"He sent one before."

"He sent..." She breathed out in disbelief, her voice trailing off. She stood up from the chair, taking a few steps away from him, then turned back to face him as she asked,"When?"

"A few weeks ago." He answered. "Actually the day you got the call about Spencer and you rushed to the hospital. You remember when you came out and I was waiting for you? There was a yellow rose on your car when I got there. The word on it was ' _be_ '."

"We will be together..." She quietly said to herself, wondering if that was the whole message, but she had a feeling it wasn't.

"There's more." Jamie spoke up, getting her attention. "The same day he left that rose on your car, he left a picture on mine. It was a picture of us, that I guess he took from my room that time he broke in. My face was blacked out and he wrote ' _she's mine_ ' on the back."

"He's been threatening you for weeks, even before today?" She questioned with wide eyes. She didn't give him a chance to answer as she added,"And you didn't say anything? Jamie, you need to get that rose and picture to Danny-"

"I already did." He cut her off, his heart breaking when he saw the hurt look appear on her face.

"So, you did say something... You told Danny, you just didn't tell me." She softly said, her chin quivering as she tried unsuccessfully to hold back the tears.

Jamie laid his head back against the pillow with a sigh when he saw her eyes watering before she turned away from him. He knew she wouldn't be happy with him if she found out the truth, but he never planned to make her cry- if anything, he expected her to yell and scream at him, that he could have taken a little better than the tears.

"Nol, don't go." He pleaded as he sat up in the bed when he saw her walk toward the door. "You have every right to be upset at me. You can even be mad at me-"

"And I am." She snapped as she turned to face him. The more she thought about it, the tears were drying up and the anger was setting in. "I can't believe after getting on my case about lying about Spencer and pointing out that we don't lie to each other, then you turn around and lie to me too."

"I know, I'm sorry." He said sincerely. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, he saw the her face fall and some of the anger disappear.

"But I also know why you kept it from me. I know you were just trying to protect me." She began to say. As much as she hated that he kept something from her, she also understood the reason behind it. "I know you would never intentionally hurt me and all you want is to keep me safe."

She blew out a breath and took a step toward him,"And plus, after what happened today... at seeing you like this, I can't keep being mad at you. 'Cause I'm just so grateful that you're okay." She took another step, coming to a stop beside the bed. "Jamie, I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either, Nol." His soft tone matching hers. He reached out to grab her hand,"Everything I do is to make sure I never lose you."

"I know." Her voice barely above a whisper as she squeezed his hand. "Which is why I'm not going anywhere. And, also, why you don't have to ask me to stay, because I never plan to leave you."

He gave her a smile as he brought her hand toward his mouth and kissed the back of it. He raised his head to look at her, before saying,"I really am sorry. I mean, I knew this was going to bite me in the ass eventually, but at the moment, I just... I wanted to protected you. I didn't want to worry you and I guess, I thought, if I could get to the roses before you that I could solve the message and stop him before it got to this."

"I get it, I do, Jamie, but we can't do this. We can't keep each other in the dark, we can't try to stop Jimmie on our own. It's impossible." She stated.

"This sounds like a case for J-Boy and Kid Kelley." Jamie said in a overdramatic voice, which sounded like a tv announcer, causing her to let out a chuckle.

"Yes." She said with a nod. Matching his tone, she continued,"And several of New York's finest as backup."

"Like a detective who takes the law into his own hands and follows his own rules." He added as he pulled on her hand, wanting her to lay down with him.

She laughed at his comment, knowing he was talking about Danny, as she crawled into bed with him and laid her head on his chest. "And another detective who traveled from far away to lend a hand. Someone who jumps first and ask questions later, someone who has went toe to toe with the villain before and won't rest until he captures him again."

"Spencer?" He questioned, assuming that was who she was talking about.

"Mm-hm." She answered with a nod. Raising her head to look at him, she asked,"Is that okay? Does it still bother you that he is here and wants to help?"

"No." He said honestly. "I told you before, I was just jealous and it was clouding my judgement. We're gonna need all the help we can get on this. Catching Jimmie is all that matters." As she smiled at his words, he laid a hand on the side of her face, then added,"Well that and this... having you here beside me, you being safe and happy, that's the most important thing of all."

Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his for a tender kiss. When she pulled back, she felt him move his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, pulling her back toward him for another kiss before resting his forehead against hers. He intertwined his fingers in her hair as he whispered against her lips, "I'm going to love you forever, Noelle Kelley."

"Good to know." She whispered. She pulled back to look at him, laying her hands on either side of his face, before saying,"Especially since I plan to do the same."

"We're going to get through this, okay? We're going to stop him." He said, pulling her toward him to lay his forehead against hers again.

"What if we don't?" She quietly asked, speaking out the fear that has plagued her since the beginning.

"Nol-"

"No, Jamie, just listen to me." She interrupted, knowing he was going to tell her not to think that way. She pulled back to look at him with tears in her eyes,"As soon as all of this started again, I just kept going back to before and how it all went down.

"Jamie, I never saw him coming... I like to think I am aware of my surrounding and I know after he started leaving things and I felt threatened I paid even more attention. I constantly looked over my shoulders and I was hypersensitive about everything, but he still grabbed me when I least expected it."

She felt tears roll down her face as the past hit her and her fears began to spill out. "Jamie, what if- what if he does that again? What if we do everything we can to keep my safe and protected and he still gets to me? What if he takes me again?"

"Then I'll find you." He said as he tightened his hold, squeezing his fingers around her hair. "Nol, I swear to you, I'll never stop looking for you."

"You promise?" She tearfully whispered. Her vision blurred as she remembered being back in that house, watching the days and nights pass by with no one coming to find her, "Because I can't- I can't go through that again. I can't-"

"Shh." He quietly shushed her. He leaned forward to brush his nose against hers as he whispered,"I promise."

Noelle pulled back to look at him, and he wasn't at all surprised when she held up her hand, her pinky raised,"Pinky promise?"

Jamie wrapped his pinky around hers as he said,"Pinky promise."

Lowering their hands, he leaned forward to press his lips against hers for a tender kiss to seal the deal instead of kissing their hands like they did as kids.

With their eyes shut and faces pressed close together, he softly said,"No matter what, I will bring you home, do you hear me?"

"I hear you." She whispered back.

Without another word, he laid back against the bed and pulled her down to lay on his chest. He held her close as she continued to cry out all of her fears and he made her promise after promise.

Through the years, Jamie had made her many promises and had kept every one, and she knew he would do all he could to keep these as well, but she also knew how Jimmie was and he would not give up easily.

One fear she didn't speak out about was the one that had consumed her after she saw the first rose and knew he was back- the fear that she couldn't shake; that she would not survive him again. If he took her, she couldn't help but fear that she would not be coming back home ever again.

•••

Over the next couple of days things were quiet, no more roses or notes had popped up. Danny and Spencer weren't able to find Jimmie that night in the hospital, he had already fled the scene, but several cops were posted on different floors and exits while Jamie was there.

The cop that had been posted on his floor had apologized repeatedly for abandoning his post that night. He had explained that he saw a suspicious man loitering near by and had went to question him, but the man ran and he chased after him, only to lose him minutes later. He had given a description which sounded a lot like the one Spencer gave of his attacker, making them wonder if the person was Jimmie's partner.

Danny was waiting to receive all the security tapes from all the cameras around the hospital and planned to search each one, hoping to put him and a partner together so they knew exactly who they were looking for. He was waiting for word on when the tapes were being delivered to the precinct, but for now it was sunday dinner time, which was also a welcome home dinner for Jamie since he was being released that day from the hospital.

As soon as he and Noelle walked into the house, the whole Reagan family crowded around them, everyone talking at once and giving out hugs. They were all happy Jamie was out of the hospital and relieved to hear how well he was doing. His lungs looked strong, his throat wasn't as sore and the cuts were healing. The doctor did prescribe pain medicine if needed and an inhaler in case he ever experienced any shortness of breath, but mostly the doctor told him to rest and take it easy for the next few days before allowing him to return back to work.

While everyone began to move toward the dining room, Noelle pulled Danny aside to ask if there was anything new about Jimmie. She didn't want to be left out of the loop again.

"No, I told you everything I know that night." Danny answered. "By the time we locked down the hospital and searched all the floors, he was already gone."

"Have you been able to look at the security tapes yet?"

"Still waiting on those." He said with a shake of the head. "Your buddy Spencer had an idea that maybe Jimmie had been casing the place, leaning all the exits and coming up with an escape route beforehand, so I asked for tapes going back at least a couple of weeks."

"That's going to be a lot of footage to watch." She said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, me and Jackie have our work cut out for us." He said.

"If you need an extra set of eyes let me know." Noelle offered.

"Thanks, your buddy offered to help too." Danny said. "I told him I'll let him know when the tapes are in and he can come by for a look."

"Sounds like you and Spence have been talking a lot lately." She pointed out. "I figured you two would get along."

"Yeah, he's not bad. He's smart and knows his stuff." He said. "Besides, I figured he needed something to do since he's out of a job."

"What? What do you mean out of a job?" Noelle asked surprised.

"You didn't know?" Danny asked, earning a head shake in return. "I thought he might have told you."

"Told me what?"

"He left his badge behind when he came up here."

"What?" She breathed out in shock. "No, he can't- he can't do that."

"Well he did." He said as he began to walk past her, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze.

Noelle stood still for a moment, running the new information in her mind. Why the hell would Spencer do something like that? Why would he just throw his career away? She couldn't let him do this, he had to go back, he had to fix things before it was too late.

"Hey, what's going on?" She heard Jamie ask as he came up behind her, laying his hands on her hips and pressing a kiss on the side of her head.

"Nothing." She answered as she turned her head to look at him. Giving him a smile, she asked,"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. A little tired, but glad to be out of the hospital." Nodding toward the dining room, he asked,"What were you and Danny talking about?"

Before she could answer, he added,"And don't say nothing. We're not keeping secrets anymore, remember?"

"I know." She said with a chuckle. "I was asking him if there was any news about Jimmie since he left the roses, but he said no. And he also told me that he's still waiting for the security tapes."

"Hopefully they can find a good, clear picture of him and his partner so we know who all we are dealing with."

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Is that what has you so deep in thought?"

"Not at the moment." She answered. "There was something else Danny said. He told me Spencer doesn't have a job."

"What? Was he fired?"

"No, apparently, he left his badge in Florida before coming here." She explained. "I can't believe he would do that and I can't believe he wouldn't tell me. I mean, I know he blames himself for not believing me the first time and feels like he has to honor his promise to protect me, but not at the expense of screwing up his career. It's not worth it."

"Huh." He said as his mind began to wander.

"What?" She asked when she saw the look on his face. "You look like your thinking something."

"No, nothing." He shook his head.

"Really? 'Cause that looks like a something face, Jams." She said, pointing at his face.

He chuckled at her comment, then said,"I was just thinking about why someone would do that, but you can never really know unless you ask."

He had suspicions before that Spencer was feeling more than friendly toward his girlfriend and something like this supported his theory. He didn't want to jump to conclusions though- he was trying really hard not to assume anything like that. The last thing he wanted to do was cause some unnecessary drama between him and Noelle after they had just made up. If or when Spencer became a problem, he would deal with it then, right now there were more things important.

"Yeah, you're right." She said with a nod, thinking the best thing she could do was just ask Spencer for the truth.

"No surprise. I usually am." He joked as he wrapped his arms around her waist, locking his fingers as he pulled her closer to him.

She playfully rolled her eyes at his comment, before saying,"Don't say things like that, we're not supposed to lie to each other, remember?"

"I could be offended by that, but I'm gonna let it slide this time since I'm starving. So for now, I'm just gonna do this..." He began to say, before he leaned forward to press his lips against hers for a sweet kiss. He grinned in the middle of the kiss when she let out a small moan, then pecked his lips against hers once more, before adding,"Then say, let's go eat."

"Mm. You keep kissing me like that and I could almost forget all about food." She softly said as she laid her hands on the back of his neck, her fingers messing with his hair.

"Really?" He questioned, surprised. Pulling back to look at her, he added,"I made you forget about food?"

"Almost." She corrected him.

He thought about it for a minute, then nodded his head as he said,"Close enough. I'll take it."

She chuckled at his comment as Erin poked her head out of the dinner room and called out to them to come eat. She smiled as Jamie ran a hand down her arm before grabbed her hand while they began to walk toward the dining room.

As he intertwined their fingers, her mood dropped for a moment as she realized all she almost lost; like the feel of his hand in hers, his arms around her and his lips against hers. She almost missed hearing him say he loves her and future plans they have.

Feeling him tug on her hand, she looked up at him as he shot her a smile, chasing away all the bad thoughts from her mind.

She might have almost lost him, but thankfully she didn't, now she hoped to have a lifetime of his smiles and feeling his love; she hoped her fears would fade away and they could catch Jimmie before anything else happened. She hoped to spend the rest of her life with her best friend- just like he pinky promised they would many years ago.

•••

 _A/N; Sorry it took so long to update, I was having some problems writing, but hopefully I haven't lost any of you. I'm excited I was finally able to a do flashback of young Nol x Jams! I hope you all have a happy thanksgiving this week, and if you don't celebrate it, then I wish you a happy day!_

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to werks, lilnightmare17, DaniNatureGirl391, peace486, keenler-mcswarek-girl, mcgeeksgirl, Love. Fiction. 2016, jlmayer, Rasiel Hasu, High Gaurdian, January Lily, BrokenDreamsxx92, Guest, Sage Londyn, Daniel Reagan and Guest for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	27. Meet The Parents

**27; Meet The Parents**

Reaching out a hand in the dark room, Jamie gripped the doorknob and turned it. He heard the door creak as he pulled it open and looked down at the basement stairs. He clicked on a flashlight, feeling a sense of déjà vu as he shined the light into the room- the thin beam of light barely broke through the darkness.

He cautiously stepped on to the top step, hearing it groan under his weight. He swallowed hard, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as he took several steps down. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to go back into a basement, not after what happened before, but he knew he had no choice. Someone was in danger and he had to save them.

"Hello? Anyone down here?" Jamie called out as he stepped off the last step. He pulled in a deep breath of dry air, his head feeling faint as he remembered saying something similar that day he was trapped in a burning basement.

He took a few steps back until his back connected with a wall, he bend forward to rest his hands on his knees as it became hard to breathe. No matter how many times he tried to take a breath, he remembered how it felt last time and began to panic all over again.

Pushing away from the wall, he headed for the stairs, he couldn't do this now. He couldn't search the place when he felt like this- it was too soon. He was about to step onto the bottom step, when he heard a noise toward the back of the room, the sound of a whimper- like someone was hurt, but too scared to make a sound.

"Is someone back there? It's the police, I'm here to help." Jamie said, his voice sounding calmer than he felt. He wanted the person to know they were safe and he was going to save them.

With a goal in mind, he was distracted enough to feel his heart rate slow down. He knew what he had to do now. He carefully walked further into the dark room, shining the light in front of him to guide the way.

Hearing a noise to his left, he jerked to the side, his other hand going for his gun, until he noticed a dark-haired girl kneeled down on the floor with her head down. He moved the flashlight toward her, casting her in the bright light, and seeing a chain around her ankle which was attached to a wall.

Clearing his throat to get her attention, he planned to tell her everything was okay now and help was here, but nothing prepared him for when she raised her head and he looked into the wide, scared eyes of his girlfriend.

"Nol?" Jamie questioned as his voice cracked with emotion. How the hell did she get down here?

"Jamie." Noelle breathed out as she stood up from the floor. Her wide eyes jerked from side to side as she quietly asked,"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. He-He'll be back soon."

"I don't care." He said with a shake of the head as he took a step toward her. He assumed the ' _he_ ' she was referring to was Jimmie. He couldn't understand how Jimmie grabbed her- where was he when it happened? Why the hell didn't he protect her enough?

"Jamie, wait, no!" She called out as she held out her hands to stop him. She madly shook her head, wanting to get him out of there before it was too late. "You gotta go. He's coming back and he'll hurt you-"

"I don't care." He repeated, cutting off her frantic plea. All he wanted was to get her out of there. He wasn't going to fail her again.

"Jamie-"

"Nol, I'm not leaving you!" He yelled out. "Okay? I will never leave you. No matter what." He added, his tone desperate.

As she stood silently, he took a few more steps toward her. He glanced down to look at her foot, swallowing hard when he saw the heavy chain and the cuff on her ankle, causing him to come to a stop as he felt like he had just been punched in the stomach.

He couldn't believe this was happening to her again- the last time he couldn't do anything to save her, but he would be damned if he just walked away and left her here this time. Somehow he had to save her and get her the hell out of there.

"Jamie..." She quietly said, getting his attention. He raised his head to look at her and wiped at his eyes as he realized his vision was blurry from tears. He shook his head, feeling angry- mostly at himself, but also at Jimmie and the situation they were in.

"How did this happen? How-How did he... Why didn't I protect you more?" He demanded to know. He had to know how he screwed this up so badly, he couldn't believe he let this happen.

"'Cause you can't." She answered as a tear rolled down her face. "You can't save me, Jamie."

"Yes, I can. " He argued, feeling confident. Coming to a stop in front of her, he took her face in his hands,"I will save you. I swear I will, I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"

"Okay." She softly said with a nod.

He looked back down at her ankle,"But first we got to get this off of you." He raised his head to look at her, before saying,"I'll be right back. I'm gonna see if there are any tools down here... maybe some bolt cutters or something to cut it off, then we're getting the hell out of here, okay? Both of us."

As she gave him a nod, he leaned forward to press a tender kiss to her forehead, before pulling back to look at her. He hated to leave her, even for a minute, but he knew he had to briefly- it was the only way to save her.

Taking a step away from her, he turned then shined the flashlight on either side of them, hoping to see a tool chest, tools hanging on the wall or something useful, but all he saw was empty space around them.

He turned his head to look at her, telling her again he would be back, then began to walk over to the other side of the room, where he saw floor to ceiling shelving and felt a sense of hope for the first time since he walked into the basement.

He searched each shelf- from bottom to top, mostly finding junk and random objects that someone discarded. The only tools he did come across were broken or just wouldn't work for them. The hope he had before was quickly going away after he cleared each shelf. His actions became frantic as he began to throw things over his shoulders and using his hand to clear shelves with one sweeping motion.

He only stopped when he heard Noelle's frightened voice scream out his name. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, he didn't have to turn around to know what had her so scared as a familiar scent filled his nose- it was smoke.

"Jamie... Jamie, fire!" Noelle yelled out as she instinctively tried to move toward him, but was stopped by the chain attached to her foot. She turned to grab the heavy chain and tried to pull at it as hard as she could, letting out a frustrated groan, which turned into a helpless scream when the chain stayed attached to the wall.

As more smoke filled the room, she looked over in the direction Jamie had went in, the bright flame giving her enough light to see that he was pressed back against the metal shelves with a terrified look on his face. He felt paralyzed, like he couldn't move as the fire moved closer to him.

"Jamie, please, you gotta- you gotta move. Jamie!" She screamed, trying to get his attention. She hated that she couldn't just go to him and help him through this. She could understand his reaction, but she feared if she couldn't at least get through to him that she will watch him die right in front of her eyes.

The pleading in her voice finally reached him, causing him to take a step toward her- he desperately wanted to save her, but the hot flame caused him to jump back. As his eyes landed on her, the helpless look on her face matching his own, he realized they were not getting out- there was no way to escape this fiery blaze.

He opened his mouth, ignoring the smoke that filled his lungs as he screamed out her name. He heard her sobs from across the room and felt his heart break at the noise. She was so close, yet too far to touch, and there was nothing he could do to console her and make things better.

Once again, he could not save her- his worst nightmare was happening right in front of his eyes.

"Nol!" Jamie yelled out as he sat up in bed with his heart beating wildly in his chest. He glanced around the sunlight filled room; first thing he noticed was he wasn't in a basement, but in his apartment. The open layout also gave him a glimpse of most of the rooms which revealed no fire, making him quickly realize it was all just a dream- a very bad, very real feeling, dream.

Hearing a crash coming from the kitchen, followed by the door banging open across the room, he turned his head and saw Noelle running out of the room with wide eyes as she looked at him. After hearing him yell out in a desperate tone, everything else was forgotten as she raced to him expecting the worst.

She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but before she could utter a word, he was out of the bed and across the room in front of her. She felt him pull her toward him, causing her to wrap her arms around his middle as he held her tight against his bare chest.

Pulling back, he took her face in his hands- even with knowing it was a dream, he couldn't stop himself from looking her over and asking,"Are you okay?"

She gave him a nod, a concern look on her face as she questioned,"Are you though? What happened? I heard you yelling for me and I came running-"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just, it was just..."

"A nightmare." She finished when he paused. A pained look appeared on her face, she hated when he had a nightmare and there was nothing she could do to help him.

After being released from the hospital a week ago, he had bad dreams the first few nights. She had woke up throughout the night to hear him whimper in his sleep and tried her best to comfort him until he fell back into a peaceful sleep.

His sergeant wanted him to speak to someone before being cleared to come back to work. After a couple of sessions, his nightmares had gotten better, but by his helpless tone when he called out for her, this dream sounded worse than the others before.

"Yeah." He mouthed as he brushed some hair from her face, then leaned forward to press his lips against hers for a soft kiss- after the dream he had he needed this. He needed to feel his lips against hers, he needed to constantly touch her. He just needed her to be okay and to be close to him, that was the only thing that would ease his mind and calm his nerves.

"Are you okay?" She whispered with her lips inches from his.

He pecked her lips again, then rubbed his nose against hers, before answering,"I am now."

"Jamie..." She softly said as she pulled back to look at him, a concern look on her face.

He wasn't all that surprised when she grabbed his hands and took a few steps back until she reached the small step that led up to the bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed and waited until he sat down beside her.

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, I know how it is to have horrible nightmares that feel so real and for a moment you wake up you're so sure they are real and it's hard to tell the difference."

"I know, but I know what's real." He said, laying a hand on the side of her face and caressing her cheek. "This is real. You're here and you're okay, that's all that matters."

With the way he was acting and the words he was saying, she had a pretty good idea what his dream was about now- it involved her and Jimmie.

"What happened?" She asked, her tone low and soft.

"It doesn't matter." He answered with a shake of the head.

"Jamie-"

"It doesn't. 'Cause it's never gonna happen." He said, cutting her off. When she shot him a look, he gave her another kiss, before saying,"Nol, I promise, I'm okay."

"Okay." She said with a nod. She wished he would talk about it, she hated the thought of something bothering him, but she also knew how hard it was to talk about some things and she didn't want to push him. She knew that never worked.

The two were quiet for a moment, just enjoying the silence with each other, until he noticed the time. He stood up from the bed as he announced,"I should get ready for work."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Noelle questioned as she stood up to stand beside him.

"Nol, it's been a week... The doctor has cleared me." He said, turning to face her.

"But, if you play hooky today, you can go with me to my parents." She suggested as she shot him a hopeful look. She knew she shouldn't be trying to influence him to call out of work, but she was just so terrified to leave his side. "We could bake cookies, play phase 10 or watch movies... it'll be like the old days."

"That sounds great, it does, but I need to get back to work." He said, grabbing her arms to wrap around his neck before laying his hands on her hips.

When she let her arms fall with a pout, he chuckled and playfully rolled his eyes, then grabbed her arms again to wrap around his neck. "Don't be like that. You know I can't afford to be out any longer."

"I know." She said with a sigh. "I just-"

"I know you're worried about me." He interrupted her. "But, it's going to be okay. Plus, they're going to keep me at a desk a few extra days just in case before I'm back on patrol."

"You'll take your inhaler, right?" She asked.

"I haven't needed it since the other day." He pointed out.

Even after being released from the hospital, his lungs were still sensitive. A few times he had to stop what he was doing to use a inhaler- like one night when a heated make out session between them had him fighting for breath. It was worth it to him though; being able to touch her, kiss her and be with her in the way he had thought about since being in the hospital. He just wanted to show her how much he loves her without wheezing for breath.

"Jamie..." She warned him as she shot him a look.

"Okay, I'll take the inhaler." He said, holding up his hands in surrender. He laid them on either side of her face, before asking,"Better?"

"I'll be better after you come back home to me." She said, laying a hand on his chest over his heart.

Leaning forward to kiss her, he couldn't stop himself from smiling in the middle of it at the choice of her words. He didn't even think of a place as home anymore- she was home to him. He didn't need walls or a roof, just her arms around him and her body pressed against his. Her smile brighten his day more than any lights could and her kisses brought him more comfort than anything else could.

"I got an idea." Jamie mumbled against her lips.

"Hmm?" Noelle questioned before pulling back to look at him.

"What if after work I swing by Cathalina's for take-out?" He suggested, naming one of their favorite restaurants.

"It has been a while since we ate there." She pointed out. After thinking about the food there, she made a small moan, then said,"Mm, yeah, I'm definitely craving some alfredo now."

"Okay," He said with a laugh. "So, I'll grab that and then we can watch a movie here or... play strip phase 10."

"Hm, didn't realize it could be played that way, but I guess anything could involve stripping." She said in thought. She cut her eyes to look at him, a grin on her face as she said,"Okay, you're on! Get ready to lose, Jams."

"I think playing it this way, there will be no losers. We'll both win." He teased with a wink.

"Cute." She chuckled before feeling his lips brush against hers.

What started as a gentle kiss began to heat up quietly between them. He knew he should take it easy, but he couldn't stop kissing her no matter how hard he tried, she was like a drug to him- only instead of having a negative effect on him, every touch of her lips healed him a little more inside.

She felt him lay a hand on the back of her head, before nibbling her bottom lip, causing her to moan, which only encouraged him more. He intertwined his fingers in her hair as he laid his other hand on the small of her back, his fist balling around the soft material of the t-shirt she had on as he pulled her closer against him.

"Have I ever told you how much I love it when you wear my shirts to bed?" Jamie mumbled against her lips before slipping a hand under the shirt and running his fingers across her bare back, causing goosebumps to appear on her skin. He didn't think anything could turn him on more than her in a pair of panties and his shirts.

"Have I ever told you how much I love sleeping in your shirts?" Noelle quietly said back with a smile on her lips.

"Mm." He moaned as he pecked her lips once more before pulling back to look at her. The dark blue shirt of his came to her knees, her tan legs bare- he had always loved her legs. He raised his eyes to look at her, before saying,"Well, you are welcomed to wear my shirts to sleep anytime you want."

"Good." She laid her hands on the back of his neck and pulled his face closer to hers, before quietly saying,"Plus the more I wear, the less you have to wear."

He chuckled at her words and antics when she bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows at him. He ran his hand down her back, laying it on her butt- another part of her he loved, before he began to kiss her while walking her backwards toward the bed until she pulled back to break the kiss.

"What's wrong?" He questioned with a concern look when she came to a stop.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking as much as I want to do this... and oh, my God, do I want to do this. But now is probably not the best time." She explained as she fought the urge to pull him toward her for another mind-blowing kiss. "You got work, I got to visit my parents. Plus, if we keep this up you might need the inhaler. You remember what happened last time we tried this."

"That's because you always take my breath away." He stated before capturing her lips for another passionate kiss.

"Mm." She moaned, then pulled back as she shook her head. "Uh-uh, no. No, that was too far, Jams, just too corny. You're cut off."

"Fine." He laughed as he held up his hands and took a step back from her. "I need to make coffee anyways."

"Actually, first, you have a mess to clean up." She admitted as she flashed him an apologetic smile, hoping he would forgive her. When he shot her a confused look, she explained,"I was in the middle of making coffee when you called out for me, so I just dropped everything and ran. I'm sorry."

"Okay." He sighed with a nod. He couldn't really be that mad at her, it was basically his fault she made the mess. "So, I guess I'm cleaning your mess, then making coffee."

"That sounds great, honey, remember I like lots of sugar and milk in mine." She reminded him as she flashed him a smile, causing him to laugh at her request.

Pointing behind her toward the bathroom, she teased,"I'm gonna take a shower and then go grab Daisy. I figured she can go with me to my parents since you won't play hooky." After pausing a moment in thought, she continued,"And I should probably check on Spence too. It's been a couple of days since I was last home."

Once Jamie was released from the hospital, she didn't want to leave his side much, so Spencer offered to look after Daisy while she stayed with Jamie at his place. She tried to drop in on them every other day to make sure everything was okay, but between work and restless night, she was too tired to stop by the last few days.

"I'm sure he knows how to feed himself and go on walks." He joked. As a thought hit him, he added,"Oh, hey, why don't you take Spencer to your parents?"

"What? Seriously?" She questioned as she sank down to sit on the edge of the bed. "Are you seriously suggesting I hang out with my friend who you were insanely jealous of weeks ago?"

"Yeah, but I'm not insanely jealous of him anymore. Just the regular ' _he better not touch my girl or else_ ' jealousy." He explained. When she shot a look, he laughed and threw up his hands,"I'm kidding! I'm not jealous about your friendship with him. I trust you, okay?"

"Okay." She said with a smile. That was all she ever wanted. She wanted to be able to have both of them in her life with no drama involved.

"I think it's a good idea to take him with you." He explained,"He's a cop, he knows what to look for, he'll protect you and I don't have to worry about you going by yourself. It's a win-win."

"Okay, I'll take Spencer and Daisy. Double protection." She said with a nod.

"Even better." He said, taking a step toward her, then bending down to give her a quick kiss.

Sitting on the bed, she watched him walk across the room to head for the kitchen, until an idea crossed her mind, causing a smile to appear on her face. She stood up from the bed and called out to him, she waited until he turned to face her before she reached down to grab the bottom of the t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She felt a fluttering in her stomach as she saw his eyes darken with lust as they roam over her naked body.

She fought hard not to wrap her arms around herself and lay a hand on the scar on her side. She was still sensitive about the mark, but she knew Jamie didn't judge her for it- he saw it as beautiful and another reason to love her.

Pushing any bad thoughts the scar brought, she flashed him a smile, before asking,"How about we get started on the whole stripping thing now? You know, for practice?"

"Coffee can wait." He said with a nod, before he rushed across the room to wrap an arm around her waist. She let out a squeal which turned into laughter when she felt him pick her up and carry her toward the bathroom.

•••

"So this is where you grew up?" Spencer questioned close to an hour later when she pulled into her parent's driveway and parked beside the brick two-story house.

After a little bathroom fun with Jamie, she sent him off to work, then headed for her apartment to check on Daisy and Spencer. She was surprised when she walked in and found the latter standing in front of one of her living room walls- a wall he now had covered with pictures and notes he had taped to it to start a timeline of everything Jimmie has done since being released.

Some of the stuff on the wall were facts; things they knew Jimmie had done, but most were just his notes and assumptions- either way, it was clear to see what he had been up to since she was last there days ago. He had been stuck in her apartment obsessing about the case.

She had joked earlier with Jamie that she needed to check on him, only now she was realizing it was a more serious matter and she should have checked in on him earlier. She was glad Jamie had suggested she take him to her parents, she wouldn't be surprised to learn he hasn't left the building much lately and from the looks of things he desperately needed to get out.

"Yeah, we moved here when I was four." Noelle said, answering his earlier question. She turned the car off after parking it, then exited the car, leaving the door open for Daisy to jump out after her.

The curious dog ran toward the front yard, then sniffed at the grass before falling down and rolling around happily. After a few more rolls, she stood up and trotted back over to her owner, sitting down at her feet as she looked around as if looking for danger.

Noelle gave the dog a scratch behind the ears, then pointed toward the back of the house, before adding,"Next street over is where Jamie lived. His dad and grandfather still live there."

"You and Jamie been friends since then, huh?" He questioned as the two began to walk toward the house with Daisy following along behind them.

"Mm-hm." She answered with a nod. "First day we moved in, his parents came over to welcome us to the neighborhood. My dad and his worked in the same precinct... It was actually Frank who told my dad about the house. So when we moved in, he wanted his wife to meet my mom, and when Jamie found out there was a kid his age, he wanted to tag along too."

A smile appeared on her face as the memory hit her. "I still remember it like it was yesterday. While all the boxes and furniture were being moved inside, I was outside with my little red wagon. Since everyone was busy, I was just sitting in it and eating a bag of cotton candy... the blue kind of course, because it reminded me of the sky."

"Of course, 'cause that makes sense." He joked.

"Shut up." She laughed as she playful shoved him away from her. "Anyways, I was sitting in my wagon and this young boy comes up and ask if I wanted him to pull me in the wagon. So he pulled me around for a while, then I let him sit while I pulled him around. We talked and realized we had a lot in common; liked the same cartoons and superheroes. He told me about this plush toy bunny he sleeps with, I shared my cotton candy and it was the start of a lifelong friendship."

"Wow, it must have been serious if you shared your cotton candy." Spencer said with a surprised look on his face. He still remembered the time she slapped a spoon out of his hand when he tried to taste test her ice cream while they were hanging out at the beach one afternoon.

"Hey! I share my food sometimes." Noelle argued.

"Not with me." He pointed out.

"We haven't reach that part of our friendship yet." She shrugged as she reached out to open the back door.

He laughed at her comment, then lowered his eyebrows in concern as he said,"Wait, your parents don't keep their doors lock?"

"No." She answered with a head shake. A sigh escaped her lips,"I try to tell Dad all the time he needs to keep the doors locked, but my father- the retired cop, says if anyone breaks in they're in for a surprise not him."

"Ah." He said with a nod, like it made complete sense to him.

After entering the house, she shut the door, then called out to her dad, letting him know she was there. It didn't take long before she heard his footsteps coming toward the kitchen. She walked across the floor, meeting him halfway to give him a hug.

He dropped a kiss on top of her head, then turned his attention to the man standing by the back door. Noelle quickly introduced them, then stepped back as her dad walked toward Spencer to shake his hand.

Byron stepped back to stand beside his daughter and threw an arm around her shoulders as he spoke to Spencer. "Thank you for saving our little bitty bug."

"It's a childhood nickname." Noelle explained to her friend as she leaned against her father.

"I figured." Spencer said with a laugh. Turning his attention to Byron, he said,"No thanks necessary though, Mr. Kelley."

"Please, call me Byron." The older man said. "My daughter told me you were the one who tracked her down and saved her from that maniac."

"Yeah, but it was the least I could do after not helping her sooner." Spencer pointed out, a fact that would always haunt him.

Recognizing the look on his face, the same one he saw on his own whenever he blamed himself for the way a case turned out, he gave him a friendly smile. "You need to let yourself off the hook for not helping sooner. No one blames you, Spencer. Besides you were there when it counted."

"That's what I told him too." Noelle said, smiling at her friend. She turned to look at her dad and made a face as she loudly whispered,"He's not very good with the listening."

"I heard that." Spencer laughed.

"Is that my beautiful daughter I hear?" Evie questioned, grabbing their attention as she walked into the kitchen while Noelle let Daisy out in the fenced in backyard to roam.

"Mom!" Noelle greeted as she rushed across the room to hug the older woman.

"Mm, my baby girl." Evie cooed as she hugged her daughter tight. She pulled back to lay a hand on the side of her face and asked,"How are you doing?"

"I'm good. How are you?" Noelle asked back.

"I'm marvelous!" Evie stated happily. She kissed her daughter's cheek before adding,"And now I'm even better since you're here."

Noelle smiled before wrapping her arm around her mother again. With her health, she never knew how her mother was going to feel day-to-day, but it always warmed her heart to see her this way- the loving mother she grew up with.

"Who's this?" Evie questioned as she nodded toward Spencer across the room. A worried look appeared on her face as she began to wonder if her memory was slipping. She looked from her husband to her daughter as she asked,"Do I already know him?"

"No, no, Mom. You've never met him." Noelle quickly said, not wanting to upset her. "This is my friend from Florida, Spencer Hayes."

"It's nice to meet you, Spencer." Evie said, taking a step toward him and holding out her hand for him to shake.

"No way. Not possible." Spencer said as he grabbed her hand with an amazed look on his face. Noelle and her parents were confused, until he added,"There is no way you're a mother. I would have guessed older sister."

"Oh, I like him." Evie laughed as she tugged on his hand to pull him toward her for a quick hug. "You are officially my favorite." She added as she patted his back before stepping out of his arms.

"Smooth, Spence." Noelle joked,"Trying to steal my mom away, I see."

As his wife spoke to their daughter and her friend, Byron stood back with a smile at seeing how happy this visit made her. In moments like this he could swear she was the young woman he fell in love with so many years ago. These small moments of happiness made up for any of the hard days they had and the ones he feared were right around the corner.

"Why don't I go throw some food on the grill." He suggested, grabbing their attention. He looked at his daughter and her friend,"Are you two hungry for some burgers?"

"Burgers sound great." Spencer spoke up.

"Yeah, I could eat a burger or two." Noelle said.

"Just two?" Spencer teased her.

"Don't make me send you to the car to wait." Noelle said as she playfully glared at him.

"Don't you dare, Noelle Elise." Her mother warned, not realizing the two were joking around. She stepped forward to stand beside Spencer,"Now, why don't you help your father cook and I'll give Spencer a tour of the house."

"I would love a tour." Spencer said, shooting Noelle a smug smile, causing her to mouth the word- ' _suck up'_.

"Then after lunch we can play a game of uno." Evie suggested with an excited gasp when the idea hit her.

"I love uno." Spencer said, smiling over at the older woman.

"Me too!" Evie exclaimed. "It was always my favorite. Noelle's favorite was always... um..."

"Phase 10." Noelle finished for her mom when she saw her having a hard time remembering. "And Jamie always liked spades."

"Yes, that's right." Evie said with a nod. She snapped her fingers, then pointed at her daughter- the memory hitting her,"You and him would always partner up and beat me and your dad every time."

"That's right." Noelle said smiling, happy to see her remembering something from their past, but still being present.

"Now, let's get on with that tour." Evie said, turning her head to look at Spencer.

"Lead the way, Mrs. Kelley." He said politely as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, no, handsome, call me Evie." She said while the two began to walk out of the room happily chatting to each other.

"Wow, looks like Spence has charmed Mom and she is clearly smitten now." Noelle looked over at her dad and joked, "I think you got some competition, Dad."

"Nah, I'm not worried." Byron said with a shake of the head. He held up his fists, before playfully saying,"I can take him."

She laughed at his antics then felt him wrap his arms around her, giving her one of his world-famous bear hugs. Growing up, she could swear that his hugs were magical, they always somehow made her feel better and healed whatever problem she was having at the moment.

Keeping an arm around his daughter, he pulled back to look at her closely, his face growing serious,"You look tired, bitty bug. Are you sleeping?"

"Some."

"Not enough." He lectured her. "How's Jamie?"

"He's doing better." She said. "He went back to work today."

"I know you're worried about him, but he's a good boy and an even better cop. He'll be okay." He said, trying to put her mind at ease.

"I know, but I just... " Taking a step back, she began to pace back and forth in front of him. "Jimmie got to him before and I almost lost him, Dad. What if that happens again and next time we're not so lucky?"

"You can't think that way. You can't let that negativity in." Byron said, laying a hand on her shoulder to stop her as she walked past him.

"That's easier said than done, Dad." Noelle pointed out.

"I know, but what did I always tell you..." He turned her to face him, before he continued,"Even when the cup is half empty, it's still full. You remember why?"

"'Cause it's half water and half air." She answered, like she had done so many times growing up.

"Exactly." He said with a smile. "As long as there is something in that glass, it can never be empty. Never forget that, bitty bug, there is always hope."

"I'm trying to remember that." She said honestly.

"As long as you try, you never fail." He pointed out with a smile. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, then nodded toward the door as he said,"Now come on, let's get the grill going. The burgers are not going to cook themselves."

•••

After a filling lunch and several hands of uno, Byron made sure Evie took her medicine then checked in on her while she rested. Noelle walked out of the kitchen with a beer for Spencer and a water for herself since she was driving. She found her friend in the living room by the fireplace. He was staring intently at one of the pictures sitting on the mantel when she joined him.

"Who's this?" Spencer questioned as he pointed toward an old picture of herself and Baylor. She was only a few months old in the picture while four-year old Baylor held her in his lap with a huge grin on his face. There wasn't many happy pictures with the siblings and the ones they did have the pair were young since Baylor problems started when he hit his teens.

"That's my older brother Baylor." Noelle answered.

"Huh." He muttered as he continued to look at the picture. He couldn't explain it, but there was something familiar about the boy- he just couldn't figure out what it was at the moment.

"What?" She questioned, seeing the look on his face and wondered what was wrong.

"Nothing, I just never knew you had a brother." He said, not wanting to tell her the thoughts running through his mind yet. He turned his head to look at her as he added,"You never mentioned him. I've heard all about Jamie and his siblings, but never yours."

"That's because I was always closer to the Reagans than my own brother." She admitted as she looked at the picture. The smile on her brother's face was one she hasn't seen in many years. At times it felt like that little boy had died, because the person he is now is nothing like that young boy. The light was gone from his eyes, he was darker now, and there was a sadness in his smile.

"I vaguely remember a time when we were close, but it was like a flip switched in him one day and he was completely different." She explained. "Suddenly, he was hanging out with the wrong crowd, he got into drugs. He was hardly home and when he was all he did was fight with our parents. I can't count the times he stole stuff from my room to pawn and when I got older, I only heard from him when he needed money. The rest of the time he was basically in hiding."

"So he will basically do anything for a fix?" Spencer questioned, his mind began to wander.

"Yeah." Noelle nodded. Her tone softened as she added,"He'll lie, steal and who knows what else."

He nodded his head at her words and couldn't help but wonder if he would team up with a certain someone, maybe do some of his dirty work in exchange for drugs. He didn't want to run the idea by her yet- he didn't want to upset her just in case he was wrong, but he made a note to himself to run the theory past Danny.

The two were quiet for a moment, Spencer thinking about the case and Noelle thinking of the past. It still surprised her how quickly things changed with her brother. One day he was someone she could count on and trust, then the next he was basically a stranger.

Shaking her head to push the thoughts from her mind, she turned to look at her friend- he was someone else she felt like she could trust, but there was just one thing she was curious about.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?"

"Shoot."

"Danny mentioned something to me recently and I've been wanting to ask you about it." She began to say. "Is it true that you left your badge behind when you came here?"

Spencer blew out a breath as he dropped his head and ran a hand over his hair. He should have known that would come out eventually. He was actually kinda surprised it hasn't come up sooner.

"Spence?" She questioned when he didn't answer.

"Yeah, it's true." He finally admitted with a nod. Raising his head to look at her, he added,"And before you start to blame yourself, it's not your fault. I choose this."

"Because of me." She pointed out. "So how is that not my fault?"

"'Cause I'm saying it's not." He said back. He turned toward her, before adding,"Look, as soon as I heard Jimmie was out, nothing could have kept me away. There was no way in hell I was just going to sit back as he came after you again. I saw how bad it got at the end, Elle, I had your blood on my hands and I'm never gonna let that happen again."

"But, Spence, this is your career. You've told me stories of how much you love your job and how hard you worked to get there." She argued. "I'm not letting you just throw that away for me."

"I would walk away from everything if it meant keeping you alive, Elle." He said confidently as his eyes locked with hers.

"Spencer-"

"It's already done." He cut her off. "And as long as Jimmie is here, I'll be here."

"And what if I told you I didn't want you here? That you need to go home and fix your life before it is too late? That I don't want to see your face again until you have your badge back?" She asked stubbornly as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Then I'll protect you from the shadows. You'll never see me, you'll never know I'm there." He answered with a cocky grin. His face grew serious, before he added,"Bottom line, Elle, I'm not going anywhere. I'll protect you with my last breath if I have to; I'm not walking away from this."

"Why is this so important to you, Spence? Why me? Why _this_ case?" She quietly asked when she thought she saw something more flicker in his eyes when he looked at her.

"I've told you before... I consider you a good friend, and I don't have many-"

"Is that all?" She interrupted as her heart began to pound in her chest. She honestly didn't know what she would do if he said there was more. He was her good friend Spence- that was all he could be to her, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. "Spencer, we're-we're just friends, right? I mean, that's it, right?"

Spencer's eyes glanced over her, seeing the nervous look on her face. He hated lying to her, but he didn't want to ruin things between them or cause any problems. He knew where her heart belonged and he knew what his role was in her life. He knew what answer she wanted to hear and that was the one he gave her.

"That's it." He nodded. "We're just friends, Elle, and when someone becomes that important to me, I'll do anything to protect them."

"Okay, good." She said accepting his answer. She scrunched up her face for a moment and shook her head,"I'm sorry for even asking that, I mean, it's ridiculous, right? The thought of their being more, I mean, of course we are just friends. I guess- I guess I just needed to know we're on the same page, cause I never want to give you the wrong idea or hurt you, Spence."

"I know. It's fine, we're on the same page." He said as he thought the truth to himself. They weren't on the same page, they weren't even in the same library, but he knew this was how it had to be and he could live with that.

She looked at him closely, thinking she saw something in his eyes again, but told herself she was just imagining things. They were just friends, even he admitted it, so there was no problems. She had enough going on in her life, she didn't need to invent more.

Hearing a set of footsteps heading toward them, she turned her head and saw her father walk into the room. He didn't look in their direction as he walk toward the television and switched it on. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table to turn it to one of the local stations.

When Noelle saw Frank standing at a podium, she lowered her eyebrows in concern as she walked over to her dad. "What's going on?" She questioned.

"I got a call from one of my buddies at the station." Byron began to say. Even though he was retired, he still had contacts and knew what was going on in his city. "Raymundo Salazar was arrested."

"Raymundo Salazar." Noelle quietly repeated to herself. She lowered her eyebrows in thought, before saying,"Wait, I've heard that name before... why does he sound so familiar?"

"You probably read it in a paper or heard it on tv numerous of times. He's got ties to South American drug cartel. Big time drug lord." Byron explained. "But no one can ever tie him to anything. Every witness backs out since he has a history of torturing and killing them if they dare to speak against him."

"They must have a strong witness now if they made an arrest." Spencer stated.

The trio listened in as Frank asked if there were any questioned and a reporter spoke up,"Commissioner, rumors are that the arresting officer was your son Daniel Reagan; That he was involved in a gun battle with the suspect, and is your eyewitness. Will you confirm?"

"Wait, Danny is the witness?" Noelle asked with wide eyes as she looked at her father.

"Sounds like it." Byron mumbled. He was glad to hear someone like Raymundo Salazar was off of the streets, but after hearing about what he has done to other people who tried to flip on him it made him incredibly worried for Danny.

When another reporter began to ask about an indictment, another man- who introduced himself as Special Narcotics prosecutor Lyle Greene, stepped over to the microphone as Frank stepped aside for him to answer.

"First of all, I want to thank the New York City Police Department for their excellent work in apprehending Mr. Salazar." Lyle began to say. His next words shocked them to their core. "As to the indictment, we expect that after Detective Reagan testifies before the grand jury Friday afternoon, they will vote to indict swiftly and surely."

"Did he just- He just confirmed that it was Danny." Noelle said, shaking her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe this was happening, this prosecutor just basically threw Danny to the wolves- a pack of animals that wouldn't hesitate to murder to keep themselves from going to jail.

"Something's not right." Spencer said, folding his arms across his chest in thought. He motioned toward the television as Lyle and Frank began to walk away. "Even a newbie straight from law school knows not to announce to the whole world who your star witness is. So either he's the dumbest idiot in the world or-"

"Him outing Danny was no accident." Byron finished for him as he turned his head to look at his daughter and former detective. All three had a feeling it was the latter, meaning Danny was in grave danger.

•••

 _A/N; Sorry for the delay! Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story._

 _Also big thanks to jlmayer, werks, traceyaudette, BLBLF, peace486, SCARLETCOIN2012, lilnightmare17, DaniNatureGirl391, Mrs. TylerLockwood, mcgeeksgirl, MrsMarvelKnight, Love. Fiction. 2016, Daniel Reagan, Guest- Anica and Bethers for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	28. No One Is Ever Lost

**28; No One Is Ever Lost**

Closing a folder, Noelle dropped it onto the finished pile and grabbed another folder from the bigger to-do pile. Since coming into work that morning, she had been busy- almost too busy to take a breath it felt like.

After every autopsy she finished, there was another one waiting to be done, and her to-do pile didn't seem to be getting any smaller no matter how much paperwork she filled out. She was starting to think her work day would never end.

She was so lost in her work, she barely heard her cell phone when it began to vibrate beside her on the desk. Glancing at the time, she sat the pen down she was using and reached for the phone, assuming it was Jamie calling her like he promised.

He had sleepily told her that morning as she was heading out the door that he would call her as soon as he could. He had just finished a late tour and had another one that afternoon. She had shook her head as she walked back over to the bed, telling him he didn't have to call, she tried to tell him she would just see him later that night but he insisted.

She shouldn't have been all that surprised about it. He usually called her several times a day while they were at work or shot her a quick text or two. She knew he liked to make sure no new surprises from Jimmie showed up and he wanted to know she was okay- he needed that reassurance to get through his day.

After realizing she wasn't going to win the argument that morning, she gave him a soft smile and a quick kiss, watching him close his eyes and let out a content sigh before she rushed out the door for work- secretly wishing she could crawl back into the warm bed with him and sleep the morning away.

Shaking away the morning memories, she answered the ringing device and called out a greeting, expecting to hear Jamie's voice in return, but was surprised when it was Frank's voice answering back.

"Hello, commissioner." Noelle said, assuming he was calling for a work reason- although she wasn't sure what he could need her for. She figured he had his own medical examiner.

"You can drop the formality, Noelle." Frank said with a soft chuckle.

"Oh okay." She said, confused on why he was calling her then. This was starting to feel like a personal call. "Is there something I can help you with, Frank?"

"You remember that small café, the one with the peppermint hot chocolate that you always had to have on snow days?" He questioned.

"Oh yeah, Sugar Bean café." She said. "Actually it's right down the street." She still frequented the café sometimes on her lunch break. Not only did they have great coffee and desserts, but also amazing sandwiches and salads as well.

"Right." Frank said back. "Can you meet me there? Say, in about forty-five minutes?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can." She said, lowering her eyebrows in concern at the request.

"Great, I will see you then." He said, getting ready to end the call until she called out his name.

"What's going on? Is it- Is Jamie okay?" She questioned, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as every worst case scenario crossed her mind.

What if Jimmie went after him again? What if there was a setback with his lungs and he needed to go back to the hospital? She knew it was too soon for him to return to work-

"Jamie is fine." He assured her, pulling her from her rambling thoughts and causing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is something wrong then? I mean, everyone is okay, right?" She asked, trying to think what could be going on that Frank would want to meet her. If history was any indication, it was never for a good reason.

"I'll see you soon, Noelle." He said, ignoring her question, causing her concern to skyrocket.

"Frank…" She breathed out.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I know you're worried and you want answers, but I would feel more comfortable talking about this in person."

"O-Okay." She muttered. "I guess, uh, I guess I'll see you in a few then."

Noelle didn't know how she made it during the next few minutes until it was time to meet Frank, but somehow she did. She spent the time staring off into space and switching between chewing on her thumb nail and her bottom lip. When it was time, she grabbed her bag and fled from her office, barely noticing any of her co-workers as she made her way out of the building and into the crowded sidewalk.

She turned toward the direction the restaurant was located and went to take a step until she heard a familiar voice call out her name. She turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jamie walking between a group of people on the sidewalk to get to her. She knew Frank said he was okay, but it made her breathe easy to see him with her own eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, he pulled her toward him for a tight hug. Wrapping her arms around his middle, she buried her face in his shirt uniform and took a deep breath; the crisp clean scent of his detergent mixed with the faint spicy scent of his cologne instantly calmed her.

"Did your dad call you?" Noelle questioned as she pulled back to look at him.

"Yeah." Jamie answered with a nod. "He was acting weird, a little mysterious- like he does sometimes, and the first thing I thought-"

"Me too." She interrupted, knowing that his first thoughts went to her- just like hers went to him. "What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know." He shook his head.

"Do you- Do you think it could be about Jimmie?" She questioned. Maybe he had hurt someone else or maybe he sent something to threaten Jamie again.

"I don't know." He repeated. "But if so, why wouldn't he just tell us over the phone?"

She shrugged, before answering,"Who knows. Like you said, your dad is mysterious sometimes."

"Yeah." He agreed with a nod. Wrapping an arm around her, he began to lead her down the sidewalk. He figured it would be quicker for them to walk to the café than driving through the bumper to bumper traffic.

The two had only been walking a few minutes and he could swear she was even more nervous than when he first arrived at her work. They still had a good bit of walking left to do and if she stayed lost in her own thoughts, he hated to see what kind of shape she would be in once they made it to the restaurant.

He needed to distract her, get her mind to think of something else- maybe an old memory he knew would make her laugh.

"You know, one of the last time he called us like this was to confront us about drinking a bottle of his favorite liquor." He said, getting her attention.

"Oh, God, yes, I remember that." She chuckled as she leaned into his side. "It was senior skip day and we stole a bottle-"

"Whoa, wait, we?" He interrupted as he turned his head to look at her. "What is this talk of we? You stole the bottle."

"You told me where it was hidden!" She pointed out. "And you helped drank it, so you are just as guilty, Jams."

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled as he playfully rolled his eyes. He would never forget sitting on the couch beside her as his father stood in front of them and waited for one of them to break first.

"We thought we were being so sneaky by pouring some in our fountain drink cups." She said with a laugh as the memory hit her. "We had tossed some snacks in my oversized bag and was going to go see a discounted movie-"

"But then Joe surprised us with tickets to a game." He finished for her. With a smile, he added,"He said it was the only way to do ditch day right. What's better than sun, baseball and hot dogs?"

"Mm-hm." She said with a nod. "And usually that would be the recipe for a perfect day... if I didn't have too much to drink."

"I told you, you added too much to your cup." He pointed out, just like he did that day many years ago, earning an eye roll from her just like that day.

"Whatever." She scoffed. "At least I learned my lesson that day. I couldn't even enjoy the game or the food because I was too busy trying to keep down everything I had eaten that day."

"Joe learned a lesson that day too." Jamie laughed as she shot him a look- not happy about that part of the story being brought up. She honestly wanted to forget that part.

After watching the game leaned against Jamie with sunglasses covering her eyes and a hat pulled down as low as it could go, Joe had asked his brother what was wrong with her later on while they walked to the car. Not wanting to tattle on his friend, all Jamie said was she wasn't feeling good.

Hating to see her down, Joe tried to cheer her up with a box of cracker jacks. When that didn't work, he playfully poked her stomach, trying to make her laugh, but instead resulted in her throwing up on his shoes.

"Ugh." Noelle groaned as she laid a hand over her face for a moment. "That will forever be one of my most embarrassing days ever."

"Yeah, I'm sure Joe wasn't a fan of the day either." He chuckled. "I know I wasn't."

"Why? You weren't violently sick or thrown up on that day." She pointed out.

"I was a little." He stated, causing her to turn her head to look at him. "I didn't get it as bad as Joe, but I got hit too."

"Ew, gross!" She exclaimed. A chuckle escaped her lips as she gave his middle a small squeeze, before saying,"I'm sorry, honey. Trust me, I didn't mean to do that on either of you that day. It's not like I woke up planning to do that."

Laughing at her comment, he shrugged his shoulders,"It's okay. Sadly, it's not the first time I witnessed you throwing up all over the place."

"I remember that too." She said with a nod, knowing he was referring to the time she caught a bad stomach virus. He had come over to check on her since she was out of school that day and once he found out she was sick, he wanted to help take care of her, even though she warned him he might catch it.

He said he didn't care, she was his best friend and this is what best friends do. She remembered he spent the day laying in bed watching movies with her, rubbing a hand up and down her back to comfort her as she slept on his chest, until she had to run to the bathroom several times to vomit.

Wrinkling her nose in thought, she turned her head to look at him again,"You know, now that I think about it, you were there for a lot of my embarrassing and gross moments."

"I think I was." He said, nodding his head in agreement, before adding sarcastically,"Lucky me."

"How do you put up with me?" She joked as their steps slowed down once the café came into view.

"I ask myself the same question." He playfully said while dropping a kiss on top of her head, then reaching out and opening the door to the restaurant.

Jamie laid a hand on the small of her back to usher her inside as he removed the cap from his head after he walked in behind her. Spying his father toward the back of the room, Jamie began to lead her toward him.

Once her eyes landed on Frank, he heard her pull in a deep breath and knew her mind was racing again. Reaching out he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, hoping to give her some comfort. He was also curious about why his father wanted to meet with them, but unlike her- his mind didn't go straight to worst case scenarios; he was trying to stay positive and strong for her.

"Hey Dad. What's going on?" Jamie asked as they approached the table the older man was sitting at.

Frank raised his head at the question, giving them a small nod,"Thanks for coming."

"Of course." Noelle mumbled as she sat down in the chair beside him while Jamie sat down across from her on Frank's other side.

Frank could feel their eyes on him, waiting for him to announce why they were there, but he was still waiting on one more person.

With that thought in mind, he turned his head to look at Noelle for a moment, then turned to look over at his son, before saying,"Erin's going to join us."

"Oh." Jamie mouthed, feeling even more confused. Why would his dad need to meet with him, Noelle and Erin?

He hated to admit it, but his nerves were starting to get to him. He wanted to have hope that everything was okay, but he was starting to get a bad feeling, and one quick look over at Noelle made him see that she was feeling the same way.

"Want something to eat?" Frank questioned his son, hoping to break the tense silence.

"No. I'm good. I got to get back." Jamie answered. After getting the call from Frank, he asked Renzulli if he could leave the desk long enough to meet his dad.

"What about you?" Frank asked as he turned his head to look at Noelle.

"I'm not hungry." Noelle answered with a shake of the head, causing both men to look at her with a shocked look on their faces. It was rare that she would turn down food, but her stomach was in too many knots to even try to force something down.

As Jamie continued to look at her, the shocked look switching over to concern, Erin arrived and began to walk over to them. She smiled at the group until she noticed the looks on their faces, causing her to slowly sit down in the chair beside Noelle.

"Something's happened?" Erin guessed, her heart racing in her chest as she wondered who was in trouble.

"They have Linda." Frank quietly said, getting straight to the point now that everyone was there.

"Oh, my God." Noelle breathed out as tears filled her eyes. She didn't have to ask him who ' _they_ ' were. After hearing all about Raymundo Salazar from her father, she assumed Salazar and his crew were the ' _they_ ' he spoke of and from the looks on Jamie and Erin's face, she could tell that was exactly what they were thinking as well.

"What about the boys?" Jamie questioned, hoping like hell that they weren't taken too. From what he had heard about Salazar, the man was ruthless and would do anything to remain free.

"They're safe. They're with Pop." Frank answered, causing them all to blow out a sigh of relief at the news- at least the kids were safe.

"What are we going to do?" Erin asked, her mind racing as she tried to think of legal ways she could help, maybe some contacts she could turn to.

"Well, it is, um... my considered opinion that if this gets out, if the media gets ahold of it, she won't have much of a chance." Frank stated, letting them know they needed to stay quiet about this- if the wrong person overheard anything it could be disastrous for Linda.

"She has- She has to be okay. She has to be found. The longer she's out there alone, the longer she..." Noelle began to say until her voice cracked with emotion. She knew how it felt to be taken and locked up somewhere; all the thoughts and fears that raced through your mind the longer you were gone. She didn't want that for Linda- she wouldn't want that for anyone.

As her vision blurred from unshed tears, she felt Erin slip an arm around her shoulder while Jamie reached across the table to lay his hand on top of hers. When she heard Frank speak, his voice confident as he promised they would find Linda, she turned her head to look at him. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling several tears roll down her face, before she opened them and saw Frank looking back at her.

"This family is not losing anyone else." Frank stated, referring to Linda and anyone else who might be in danger in the future- including her. He had already lost a wife and a son, he wasn't going to bury anyone else anytime soon. "No one will ever be lost, because we will never stop looking."

•••

After leaving the restaurant, Noelle went back to work in a daze. She tried to jump back into autopsies and paperwork but was having a hard time concentrating. Every time Linda crossed her mind, she would flash back to when Jimmie had her locked in that house. She would remember how hopeless she felt the longer he had her and no help was coming.

Being locked away messed with your perception of time- the cops guessed Jimmie had her for about eight to nine days since she couldn't really remember the date he grabbed her, but it felt more like eight to nine months as she sat in that basement and watched the sun rise and sun set over and over again.

Hearing a few co-workers outside her office chatting as they began to leave work, she glanced at the time and noticed several hours has passed. She turned her head toward the window, noticing for the first time that it was dark out; she was so out of it, she never noticed the sun going down and darkening the room.

Standing up from her desk, she reached out to turn the monitor off, then grabbed a folder that held the autopsy report of the guy that was shot and had died in Danny's arms. She slipped the folder into her bag, then left the building with only one destination in mind.

By the time she arrived at the 54th Precinct, most of the detectives had already went home for the evening or was out on a case, but she assumed that Danny would still be there. She had a feeling he probably hasn't left much unless it involved the case and she figured he didn't want to go home until Linda was there. Finding his wife was his top priority, nothing else mattered right now.

Turning a corner, she paused for a moment as she watched Danny typing on the keyboard before glancing up to read the brightly lit monitor in front of him. She saw him blow out a breath, then lean back against the chair in frustration when he didn't find what he was looking for.

As she began to walk over toward him, he raised his head when he heard the click of high heels against the floor. He gave her a nod in greeting, but didn't say anything as she came to a stop beside his desk.

"Where's Jackie?" Noelle questioned, wondering where his partner was.

"Uhh..." Danny's voice trailed off as he glanced around the empty room for a moment, realizing she was gone. He vaguely remembered her saying something to him earlier before she left. He tried to remember exactly what she said, before guessing,"I think she went to grab some food."

"Ah." She said with a nod. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the folder to hand to him,"I have the autopsy report for David Taylor. I dunno if there will be anything in here that helps you find Linda, but I thought maybe you wanted to see it."

"Thanks." He mumbled as he took it from her hands. He wasn't hopeful about finding a clue in the report, but he was desperate enough to look anywhere. After glancing over the report, not seeing anything he didn't already know, he closed it and sat it down on the desk as she softly spoke up.

"Have you heard anything? From Linda? The men who took her?"

"No." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Not since yesterday. I called her phone when the officers I sent to grab her said she wasn't there and one of Salazar's men answered. I called her number again this morning and left a message demanding they show me proof of..." He paused for a moment as he voice went out.

He swallowed hard, trying to get control of his emotions as he continued,"I told them I want proof of life, but I never heard anything back."

"And I'm assuming you've already put a trace on her phone?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "First call pinged off a tower near the Third Avenue Bridge. The second one, the FDR tower in Harlem, then we lost the ping. It was probably because her phone went dead."

"That phone is always going dead." She said, a small chuckle escaped her lips. "She scared the crap out of me one day. She had called and as soon as I answered it, the call was dropped because the phone had shut off. I kept trying to call her back, but it went straight to voicemail. I was about to call you to see what the hell was going on, but she finally called me back once she got home."

"Yeah, if I don't remind her to charge it every night, the phone is basically worthless." He stated. He could not count the times their conversations were cut off because of her cell phone.

"She's going to be okay, Danny. You will find her." She said confidently as she laid a hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him. If there was one thing she knew, it was that Danny wouldn't give up- he would bring his wife home.

Danny nodded his head at her words, appreciating the gesture, but didn't say anything back in return. He was silent for a moment as his mind began to wander, he couldn't help but wonder what was going through his wife's mind at this very moment.

He knew she was brave and would never show weakness to her captures, but what was she thinking when she was alone- when she could let her fears run and worry about her situation. Unfortunately, he knew no one could answer that, no one could tell him exactly what she was thinking.

Sensing Noelle standing beside him, he couldn't help but think that maybe there was someone who could give him an idea of what Linda could be going through. There was someone who could tell him how it felt to be jerked away from everyone you love and held captured for a certain number of days. Someone who may could answer one of the million of fears running through his head.

"What were you thinking?" Danny questioned as he stared straight ahead in thought. For a moment she wasn't even sure if he was speaking to her until his eyes cut over to where she was standing.

"What?" Noelle asked confused.

"Listen, I don't mean to be insensitive or bring up a traumatic time in your life, but..." He began to say, before leaning forward. He rested his elbows on his knees; the look on his face breaking her heart- she hadn't seen him this low ever. Even when Joe died, he put on a brave face during the funeral for the family, he had wanted to be strong for them, but this was harder to get a handle on.

Raising his head to look at her, he continued,"When you were taken... What were you thinking? What was going through your mind?"

"I kept hoping someone would save me. I wanted to see my parents, your family... Jamie." She said, her voice getting lower the longer she spoke.

Leaning against the desk, she glanced down to look at her hands as she nervously began to play with them as all the memories hit her at once; like the sounds of nature outside the window, letting her know she was in the middle of nowhere alone with a madman. The feel of cold metal of the cuff around her ankle or the hard mattress she sat on as she cried daily until she ran out of tears.

All of those memories and many more were stuck in her head- and one of her many fears was that they would never leave her. She feared that certain sounds or smells would always send her back to that house. There was a certain floral scent- the detergent she guessed Jimmie used, that always sent her into a panic whenever she smelt it while out in public.

Remembering that she was talking to Danny, she turned her head to look at him, tears filled her eyes as she whispered out,"I just wanted to go home."

"It was days before you were rescued, right?" When she nodded her head to answer, he added,"Were you still thinking that then? Did you believe help was coming?"

She was quiet for a moment, making him think she wasn't going to answer. It's not that she wanted to ignore his question, she just didn't want to go back to those dark thoughts, but she knew it was healthy to talk about it- it was the only way to heal.

Blowing out a breath with a shake of her head, her voice cracking with emotion as she admitted,"Toward the end, on the days when I got really down... I couldn't- I couldn't see it anymore. I couldn't see my home, I couldn't see those moments that got me through the first few days. I couldn't see Mom or Dad or-or your family; like the sunday family dinners, the birthdays, the game nights... all of it. It was just gone."

Feeling tears roll down her face, she quietly added,"I couldn't see Jamie... I couldn't see him pleading with me to keep going, to hang on a little longer. I had-I had nothing."

Getting emotional, she lowered her head, allowing her hair to shield her face until she got herself under control. She wiped away the tears from her face, then brushed her hair back as she lifted her head- her voice small as she admitted the thought she had never spoke out loud.

"On the really bad days, the only hope I had was hoping I would just die... 'cause only then would it all be over. The nightmare would finally stop and I could be free."

Hearing Danny pull in a quick breath from her confession, she turned her head to look at him, seeing how badly her words had affected him. She knew he was thinking of his wife, causing her to quickly shake her head as she spilled out,"But, Linda knows you're coming for her. She won't- She won't think that, Danny, she knows. She knows you'll save her and she won't give up on that hope."

Danny didn't say anything back as he stood up with such force it rolled the chair backwards. She lowered her eyebrows in confusion, wondering what he was doing as he took a step toward her, until she felt him fold his arms around her and pull her against his chest to hold her.

Her vision blurred as she wrapped her arms around his middle, gripping onto her arms to hold on to him tighter as she tried to push away all the bad memories to be in the right mindset to comfort him during this emotional time. She needed to be strong for him and for Linda.

Her words earlier hurt him- they shattered his heart and bruised his soul. Just knowing those thoughts had crossed her mind, knowing she had gotten that low to the point where she didn't even want to live, because that would have been easier than feeling like she would never be saved- that confession had destroyed him.

Growing up, she had become just as important to him as his other siblings, and he had always promised to protect them all. If anyone messed with one of them, he was there to back them up or if one of them were injured, he would rush to their side to help anyway he could, but the one time she needed protecting the most- he couldn't help her; none of them could and for a moment that left her thinking that no one cared enough to save her.

"I'm sorry, Little Bit." He whispered as he laid a hand on the back of her head like he was cradling her.

"For what?" She asked confused as she pulled back to look at him. She thought this was for him- she thought she was comforting him, so why was he apologizing?

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." He explained. He wiped a tear from her cheek, before adding,"I'm sorry none of us were there."

"It's okay." She quietly said as she gave him a small shake of the head. She had never blamed any of them for that, but he quickly stopped her from brushing it all aside.

"It's not okay." He stated. "Noelle, you're family... You have always been family to all of us, and family is supposed to be there, they're suppose to protect each other, but we couldn't protect you from this."

"You didn't know." She pointed out. "None of you knew how bad it got and I didn't say anything because I just kept hoping... hoping he would stop and it would all end." When she saw him about to argue and throw out more of his guilt, she cut him off,"And you all just lost Joe. The last thing I wanted to do was add more grief to your lives."

Hoping to get through to him, she grabbed on to his arms to give him a small shake. "So whatever guilt you are feeling, Danny, let it go. What happened to me is not your fault and what is happening to Linda now is not your fault either."

Getting to what was bothering him the most, she added,"You know she wouldn't want you sitting around and wallowing in guilt. She wants you out there kicking ass and doing your job... in a safe way of course, so she doesn't have to slap you in the head later for being reckless."

Hearing him letting out a small chuckle, she smiled then gave his arm a squeeze. "You're going to bring her home, Danny. I know it, the family knows it... Even Linda knows it." After he nodded his head at her comment, she added,"Now push all the negativity aside and get the job done, Detective Reagan. If anyone can save the damsel and slay the dragon, it's you."

"Thanks, Little Bit." He smiled before kissing the side of her head. Her little pep talk was the kick in the ass he needed- she was right, he couldn't sit around and dwell on the past or present; he just needed to find his wife and lock those criminals up for life.

"You're welcome." She said, flashing him a smile. Releasing him, she took a few steps, then turned back to look at him,"I'm going to head home, but if you need anything you know how to reach me."

He nodded his head, letting her know he would, then told her bye as she began to walk away. Before she left the main room, he called out her name, waiting for her to turn around, before he said,"I won't let you down a second time, Little Bit."

"You never have, Danny Boy." She said with a shake of the head. "You've always had my back and I know you always will."

"You damn right. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried." He called out as he reached out to grab the phone on his desk, planning to jump back into the case- trying to find any little piece of information or clue that would give him the answers he needs. Someone out there knew something, and he was going to find that person and force them to talk.

"Good to know." She laughed as she continued to walk away and threw a hand up to wave bye to him. If there was one thing she knew- she knew that Danny would not stop until Raymundo Salazar and his men were behind bars and his wife was back at home where she belongs.

•••

Noelle was halfway home when she heard her phone go off and pull her away from her thoughts. She reached into her bag in the passenger seat to dig out the phone. Pulling her eyes away from the road for a moment, she glanced at the phone and softly smiled when she saw it was Jamie calling her.

"Hey." Noelle greeted when she answered the called.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Jamie asked.

"Okay." She answered. Blowing out a breath, she added,"Just a long day, you know?"

"Yeah." He mumbled. "Any word on Linda?"

"No." She sighed. "But Danny is on the case." She smiled, remembered the pep talk she gave him and the determined look on his face as she left the precinct.

"Nol..." He softly said, before she cut him off.

"Jamie, don't." He knew all of this brought up bad memories for her, but she couldn't get into that at the moment- which is what she told him as she asked him to drop it for now.

"Where are you?" He asked instead, changing the subject at her request.

"Headed home." She answered. "What about you?"

"On the way to Dad's to pick up the boys." He said. "I offered to watch them tonight, give Grandpa a break."

"I'm sure they'll love hanging out with their Uncle Jamie." She smiled. "What do you have planned?"

"Movies, lots of junk food and pizza." He stated.

"Sounds like a typical night in for me." She joked, causing him to laugh.

"Do you want to crash our slumber party?" He questioned, hoping she would. Between his nightmares lately, Linda being taken and knowing Jimmie was still out there sulking in the shadows, he would feel a lot better having her by his side as much as possible. Plus he knew she could use the distraction.

"Only if I can do your nails again." She joked.

"Hell no! I let you do that once in 6th grade and I never lived it down." He exclaimed, causing her to crack up laughing at the memory. Her mother had given her a small nail polish kit for her birthday, but being the little tomboy that she was back then, she didn't want to paint her own nails, so she begged Jamie to let her paint his instead.

"But you were so cute with the pink sparkly polish, Jams." She chuckled.

"You're horrible." He groaned. "Remind me why I keep you around?"

"'Cause I'm awesome?" She guessed.

"Not that awesome." He joked.

"'Cause I'm funny?" She guessed again.

"You are definitely _not_ funny." He said back.

"Is it because you're the J-Boy to my Kid Kelley?" She questioned, then added,"Can't be a superhero duo, when I'm a uno."

Laughing at her comment, he said,"Maybe it's because you're a dork. Maybe that's why I keep you around."

"Could be, could be..." She said, her voice trailing off as if she was in deep thought. With a gasp, she added,"Oh no wait, I got it! Is it because you love me?"

"Yes, there it is. That's the reason." Jamie said, smiling. "I fell in love with a big dork, and she has been a big part of my life for so long, I can't imagine living without her."

"Aw." Noelle cooed. "Cute, Jams, really cute."

"Yeah? So how did I do?" He joked referring to his comment before.

"The beginning was a little shaky, but you stuck the landing." She answered.

"Another win for J-Boy." He said, hearing her laugh.

Getting back to his original question, he asked,"So you coming over tonight?" When he heard her let out a hum as she pretended to think it over, he added,"I'll grab an order of cupcakes on the way home."

"You always did know the way to my heart, Jameson Reagan." She smiled.

"That's 'cause I got your heart, Noelle Kelley." He said back.

"Wow, you are on a roll tonight, honey." She said.

He laughed at her comment, before asking,"So I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, I'm still going to stop by my place first." She said, wanting to check on her dog and Spencer. She also wanted to take a hot shower and change out of her work clothes, which she explained to him.

"Okay, but if you make it there before me, just let yourself in." He said. He had recently gave her a key to his place since she had been staying there so much after he was released from the hospital. He never wanted her to have to sit around in her car to wait for him.

"Okay, I will." She nodded out of habit, knowing he couldn't see her over the phone. Seeing her apartment building coming into view, she added,"I probably will make it there before you. I'm about to pull into my place and it shouldn't take me that long..." Her voice trailed off when her phone beep, letting her know she had another call coming in.

She told Jamie to hold on for a minute as she parked the car then glanced at the phone to see who was calling. Seeing it was her co-worker, she placed the phone back against her ear as she sighed,"Actually it's gonna be longer than I thought."

"Why? What's going on?" He questioned.

"Will's calling. Which can only mean one thing-"

"A body call." He finished for her.

"Right." She breathed. "So, I'll get there when I get there."

"Okay, I'll save a cupcake for you." He promised.

"There better be more than one, Jams, or there will be hell to pay." She playfully warned.

"I'll save them all for you just to be safe." He suggested.

"Wise man." She said back with a laugh.

As the laughter died down, she thought about how lucky she was- how Jamie was always there for her. Rather she was happy, mad, scared or sad, it didn't matter... he always knew the right thing to do.

Earlier that day, she knew he was distracted her with a funny memory as they walked to the café because he didn't want her to worry herself sick. Even now, he knew when to not push her and to instead just be there, be the constant she needed in her life, be the one person she always knows she can count on.

Growing serious, she softly said,"I love you, Jamie."

Smiling at her words, he said back,"I love you too, Nol."

Without another word, she ended the call and switched over to answer her co-worker, calling out a friendly greeting.

"Hey, I know you already left for the day, but we got a body and I was told you were on call tonight-"

"It's fine." She said, cutting him off. "Where and what?"

"59th Street Bridge." He answered. "An unidentified female."

"What?" She breathed out, feeling like she had been punched in the stomach. That was around the area that Linda's cell phone had last bounced off a tower.

"Yeah, from the sounds of it, it's pretty horrible." He said, not realizing how badly this was affecting her. "A Hummer was set on fire with a woman inside."

"Oh, my God." She muttered as she raked a hand through her hair and felt it shake. It couldn't be Linda, it can not be her. She was coming home, Danny was going to find her and bring her home.

"Hey, you okay?" Will questioned, hearing her breathing pick up as she tried to control her emotions. "If you need me to call someone else-"

"No!" Noelle cut him off. "I'm coming. I'll-I'll be there. I'll meet you there."

"Okay, see you there." He said back, before ending the call.

Noelle stared straight ahead as if in a daze as she slowly lowered the phone from her ear. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had always feared the day that she would get the call to come pick up a body of someone she knew and loved- she had always dreaded it would be her brother's body, but now she could possible be arriving on the scene and finding Linda brutally murdered.

She didn't know if she could do this. She knew this was her job and she had arrived at several crime scenes to look over a body, then later did the autopsy, but it was easier to do it for someone you didn't know, someone you learn about as you did the job and found answers for the cops and the family. This was something completely different- this was someone she already knew, someone who had been in her life for years.

Reaching out, she put the car in reverse and began to back out of the parking space. As hard as it was going to be, she knew it was something she needed to do.

If it was Linda, she would rather be the one to find her and find the answers that would lock the monsters that hurt her up for life. She would help the family grieve as they lost another member; keeping some of the more violent details away from certain ones, but above all- if it was Linda, she would tell her final story.

She would make sure Linda Reagan was not remembered for how she died, but for the loving woman she was.

•••

 _A/N; Hey all! Finally here with a new chapter. I hope you all had a great holiday season. Thanks for all the support you've given this story. I hope you continue to stick with Nol in the new year!_

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to traceyaudette, werks, DaniNatureGirl391, Daniel Reagan, Bethers, peace486, mcgeeksgirl, Mrs. TylerLockwood, jlmayer, jobosfan, lilnightmare17, Love. Fiction. 2016, BLBLF, Sage Londyn, Guest -Anica, Eddie Reagan, January Lily and mickey mouse17 for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!  
xx  
_


	29. Sweet Fights And Sweet Dreams

**29; Sweet Fights And Sweet Dreams**

After arriving at the scene, Noelle felt like she was walking through quicksand, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She could sense a flurry of activity around her, but she didn't hear any of it, just a roaring in her ears as she stared straight ahead at the burned Hummer.

She was knocked off-balance for a moment when a fireman ran past her. He tossed out a quick apology, but didn't slow down as he raced closer to the scene. Everyone was running around, all of them had a job to do. To them this was business as usual; just another case, just another crime scene.

"About time, Tinker-Elle. If you had showed up earlier we could have roasted some marshmallows." Her co-worker, Will, joked when she came to a stop beside him as he took pictures of the body.

He snapped another picture, then turned his head and saw the concerned look on her face. She had always looked a bit sad when she arrived on a scene- feeling sorry for the victim and what their death would do to their loved ones, but she was usually hopeful as well; hopeful that she would be able to tell their stories and justice would come through in the end.

The look on her face at this scene was something completely different- she looked seconds from falling apart right in front of his eyes.

"Hey, you okay, Noelle?" He questioned as he lightly touched her arm to get her attention.

Turning to look at him, she blinked her eyes, as if seeing him for the first time standing beside her. She cleared her throat, her voice still sounding low and shaky as she questioned,"ID?"

He nodded his head, knowing she was asking if they had been able to ID the body yet. "Yeah, name's Sylvia Montoya."

Blowing out a breath in relief, Noelle felt tears fill her eyes at the news. It wasn't Linda. The burned remains she was staring at was not Linda.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Will asked again as he watched her take in several deep breaths and try to get control of her emotions. "Did you know her?" He added, nodding toward the body.

"No, I just… " Releasing another breath, she continued,"I just think it's a horrible way to die."

"Hm." He hummed as he took a few more pictures, trying to get a shot at every angle. He didn't buy the excuse she gave him, but decided not to call her on it, instead he said,"You think these animals were at least 'nice' enough to take her out quickly before they set her ablaze."

"I hope so." She mumbled. Anyway the woman was murdered wouldn't have been pleasant, but she was hoping it was quick and she didn't suffer much before she was set on fire.

Hearing chatter behind her about the commissioner, she turned her head to see Frank arriving on the scene. Telling her co-worker she would be back, she began to walk toward Frank, giving him a quick shake of the head when she saw the question in his eyes, which was quickly followed by relief knowing it wasn't Linda in the vehicle.

"Has the female been identified yet?" Frank asked as he came to a stop in front of her.

With a nod, Noelle answered,"Her name was Sylvia Montoya."

"Do we have a COD yet?" He questioned, asking about the cause of death.

"I haven't had a chance to really look at the body yet." She admitted. "When I arrived, I mainly just wanted to make sure it wasn't..." As her voice trailed off, he nodded in understanding, knowing the first thing on her mind was Linda.

Before he could ask her any more questions, they heard another car pull up, followed by the frantic voice of Danny as he spotted them and began to walk toward them. Noelle glanced at Frank for a moment, seeing him give her a nod, before she rushed past him to meet Danny halfway.

"It's not her, Danny." Noelle announced as she shook her head wildly.

"Are you sure?" He asked as he gripped her arms.

"Her name was Sylvia Montoya, Danny. It's not Linda, I promise." She answered, feeling the grip on her arms loosen as his body went limp for a moment at the news.

Taking a step closer to him, she lightly rubbed his back as she softly said,"It's okay, Danny, just breathe."

"You okay?" They heard Frank question as he came up behind them.

"Yeah." Danny breathed out. He gave Noelle's back a quick pat in thanks before walking with his father toward the SUV, he could hear Noelle and his partner Jackie walking along behind them.

"She was Salazar's girlfriend." Danny stated as the small group stood near the burned Hummer. "She's the one that led us to him."

"Poor girl." Noelle softly said, thinking to herself how sad it was that Sylvia was just trying to do the right thing and it got her killed.

Frank nodded his head in agreement, then added,"I'm thinking it wasn't enough for him to kill her lover. He had to see her dead, too."

"Oh, God." Danny groaned. He could remember how scared she was about going against Salazar, but he assured her that he would testify against him and she wouldn't have a reason to be scared of him anymore. Now Sylvia was just another name on the list of people he had failed.

"I'm gonna go talk to the detective in charge and see what they have so far." Jackie volunteered before leaving the group.

"You should go back to the station and get some rest." Frank said to his son.

"I can't think about sleep right now." Danny argued. "I gotta... I need to- I have to do something."

"We're all working on this, Danny." Turning his head to look at him, he added,"You don't have to do everything alone."

Without another word, Frank turned to walk away, leaving Noelle standing alone with Danny. The two were quiet in thought for a moment, until he glanced around taking in all the people busy at work around them, a pained look on his face as he quietly said,"She's still out there somewhere."

"I know." Noelle said, her tone matching his.

Another moment of silence pass between them, until she nodded toward the SUV, saying she needed to go back to work. She had only taken a few steps when he called out her name, causing her to turn around to face him.

"Still think I can find her?" He questioned, referring to their last talk when she told him she had no doubt he would find Linda and bring her home.

"With all my heart, Danny." She said honestly, seeing a small smile on his face before she turned to walk away.

•••

It was a couple of hours before Noelle was able to remove the body from the scene to have it shipped to the medical examiner's office, then made her way home for the night. She let herself in Jamie's apartment and was surprised when two heads popped up from the couch. At this hour she would have thought Jack and Sean would already be asleep.

"Hey, boys, what are you two still doing up?" Noelle questioned, ruffling their hair as she walked past them.

"Uncle Jamie said we could watch one more movie." Jack said, not taking his eyes off the television screen

"He did, huh?" Slipping her shoes off and brushing them off to the side, she asked,"Where is your Uncle Jamie?"

"Kitchen." Sean answered as he held up a bowl of popcorn, offering to share with her.

With a shake of the head she turned down the offer and began to walk toward the kitchen door. She could tell she had shocked the two young boys- it was very rare that she would turn down food, but she couldn't stomach any food after the night she had.

Hearing the door swing open, Jamie glanced over his shoulder assuming it was going to be one of his nephews, but when he noticed it was his girlfriend, he moved the pot off the stove then turned to walk over to her.

He didn't say a word, just opened his arms for her to walk into. She wrapped her arms around his middle and rest her cheek against the soft material of his t-shirt. The room was quiet for a moment, until her soft voice broke the silence.

"It wasn't her."

"I know." He said, his tone matching hers as he tightened his hold on her. "I talked to Danny earlier."

Blowing out a breath, she pulled back to look at him. "It was still so awful though. That poor girl- she basically got caught up in all of this. All she did was help Danny get close to Salazar and it got her killed."

"I know." He repeated, not really knowing what to say. There wasn't much that could be said in cases like this that would make things better.

"And as much as I'm glad it wasn't Linda, this just means that she's still out there somewhere." She continued, her tone low so the kids won't overhear.

"I actually had an idea earlier that might could help find her." Jamie announced as he took a step back to grab a magazine from the counter. Turning to the page he was reading earlier, he showed it to her, then added,"I was reading this article about Hummers- about how some people completely trick them out. I'm talking bulletproof armor, hidden drop boxes and hydraulic trapdoors. Very high-end stuff."

"Mm-hm." She nodded, glancing over the article while he continued to talk.

"Most of the small body shops, they just build these traps in the natural cavieses of a car, but this kind of work can cost 50 grand." He explained. "So, I looked around and out of all five boroughs, it came back down to one shop. They trick out vehicles for celebrities, rappers, and-"

"Let me guess..." She cut him off as she raised her head to look at him. "And high-end drug dealers."

"Yeah."

"This is really good, honey." She said with a proud smile on her face. "Great detective work."

"Thanks." He smiled at the compliment.

She looked back down at the article for a moment, until a thought hit her, causing her to jerk her head up with wide eyes. "Oh, my God, you have to tell Danny." He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off as she began to ramble,"If he can talk to someone at this shop, maybe they can point him in the right direction of where Linda is-"

"I know, Nol. I know." He cut her off and laid his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look up at him. "I already talked to him and I made plans with Dad in the morning to tell him too."

"What about your tour tomorrow?"

"I called in sick."

"Oh." She breathed out. With a nod, she added,"I took the day off too. I mean, I know I need to do Sylvia Montoya's autopsy, as well as, all the others piling up, but it's not going to get us any closer to finding Linda and right now, that's what's more important."

Seeing fresh tears fill her eyes, he softly said her name, causing her to step back from him and turn away. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but she just couldn't do it- which is what she told him. He knew he shouldn't push her, but he also hated to see her holding everything in and shutting down in front of his eyes.

"I've been thinking about it too." Jamie softly said.

"Yeah, well, I've been reliving it." Noelle said back, her tone matching his. Turning around to face him with silent tears running down her face, she continued,"Ever since we sat down with your dad and he told us she's missing, I just- I keep imagining being in that house. I keep remembering all the thoughts running through my head and how hopeless I felt and how-how I never thought I was coming home."

He took a step toward her, then took another one, but it was like she didn't see him as her voice shook with emotion. "I thought I was going to die alone in that basement and I keep thinking what must be going through her head and I don't want that for her, Jamie." She raised her head, seeing a blurry vision of him as more tears filled her eyes. "No one should have to live through that... not her, not me, not-"

"Shh, I know, I know." He interrupted as he took her in his arms and pressed a kiss on the side of her head.

"I hate this, Jamie." Her voice muffled against his shirt.

"I hate it too, Nol." He said agreeing with her as he held her close to him until he felt her pull back.

"I hate how everything takes me back there to that place and any little progress I've made is gone just like that." She said, snapping her fingers to get her point across. "I hate how weak and helpless I feel and I hate knowing she's feeling that right now and will always feel that. I hate that there is so much meanness in the world and there is nothing I can do about it."

"Hey, listen to me..." Placing his hands on either side of her face, he looked into her eyes to say,"You are not weak and you are not helpless, Nol. And I know in moments like this it is hard to be hopeful, but we're all trying to make this city a safer place. Even you help every time you do a autopsy-"

"But they're still dead, Jamie!" She pointed out. "By the time they get to me it's too late!"

"But you tell their final stories, Nol, and sometimes that makes all the difference in the world to the ones who lost and loved that person." He said back as he wiped fresh tears from under eyes with his thumbs. "Death is inevitable, but it shouldn't stop the living."

She gave him a soft smile, remembering Joe use to say that, then stepped closer to wrap her arms around his middle and held on to him like he was her lifeline- and in a way he was. Anytime things got rough, he was always there to pull her back and keep her grounded. It was like he always knew the right thing to say to make things a little easier.

Jamie silently held her close for a few minutes- something they both needed, before he kissed the side of her head and whispered in her ear,"I love you, Nol."

A genuine smile appeared on her face as she gave his middle a squeeze, before whispering back,"I kind of needed to hear that."

"Good." He smiled. "'Cause I kinda needed to say it."

He kept his arms around her until they heard the kitchen door creak open, causing them both to turn their heads and seeing Jack and Sean walk in with the empty bowl that held the popcorn earlier. Sean sat the bowl on the counter near the sink as his brother turned his attention to his uncle.

"Is it ready yet?"

"Is what ready?" Noelle questioned, turning to look at her boyfriend. She was so out of it when she first walked into the kitchen it didn't even dawn on her that he was making something.

"Uncle Jamie is making hot chocolate." Sean answered.

"Uh, actually..." Jamie's voice trailed off as he turned to look at the pot he had sat aside when she walked into the kitchen. Turning back around to the stove, he grabbed the pot while saying,"Just a few minutes, I need to heat it back up."

"Wait!" Noelle called out as she threw out a hand to stop him. When he turned to look at her, she tilted her head to the side as she questioned,"Is that just regular hot chocolate or your mom's world-famous triple hot chocolate?"

"Mom's triple hot chocolate." He answered.

"Honey, you can't heat that back up. It's not as good." She shot him a look, as if he should have known better.

A chuckle escaped his lips before saying,"You always say that, Nol, but it doesn't matter. It'll taste the same." It was an argument the two had often growing up, meaning he knew what she was going to say next.

"And you always say that, but it's not the truth. It does taste different." Seeing him roll his eyes at her statement, she pointed a finger at him as she said,"Even your mom agreed with me. She never reheated any that was left over."

"That's because there was never any left over!" He exclaimed with a laugh. "You always drank it all." He added seeing her shrug at the comment.

The two looked at each other for a moment, both trying to hold their ground, but when he saw her lower lip poke out slightly, he sighed and gave in. It was always hard to say no to her when she gave him that look- that look was why he had always followed along with any of her crazy plans or schemes growing up.

"Okay, fine, I'll make a new batch. Grab the chocolate we need." Jamie said to her as he nodded toward the cabinet it was stored in. He turned to look at Jack, who was closest to the refrigerator and asked him to grab the milk and cream he needed.

"What makes this hot chocolate so special?" Sean asked as he watched his uncle pour out the other liquid and start adding in fresh milk and cream to the pot.

"Because your grandma didn't add in just one kind of chocolate." Noelle answered. Walking over to Jamie she sat down the bags of chocolate on the counter beside him, causing him to flash her a smile in thanks. She gave his cheek a quick peck, then turned back to look at Sean as she continued,"She added three."

Holding up three fingers, she began to count it off as Jamie said,"Dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate."

Walking to the refrigerator, Noelle opened the door and grabbed a can of whipped cream. She shook up the can, then tapped Sean's shoulder and motioned for him to open his mouth. After shooting a small amount of whipped cream in his mouth, she added,"Topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips."

"Cool!" Jack exclaimed. "Can I have some too?"

"Of course." Noelle said as she walked over to him and pressed the nozzle to give him a small amount after he tilted his head back and opened his mouth.

"Now Uncle Jamie." Sean said, pointing to his uncle.

"Yeah, if we're doing shots of cream, bring it." He said as he waved her over using the wooden spoon he was stirring with.

"Okay, coming up." She said while shaking the can and walking closer to him.

Coming to a stop beside him, she pressed the nozzle to make some come out. She let out a squeal and jumped back when too much came out at once and missed his mouth, but covered the front of his shirt and counter.

Noelle slapped a hand over her mouth to hold in laughter, which was even more difficult to do when she heard the kids howling with laughter behind her. Grabbing a dish towel hanging from the stove, Jamie wiped the cream off of his mouth and shirt, then shot her a look when a chuckle finally escaped her lips.

"Why do I feel like you did that on purpose?"

"I didn't, I swear!" She said, holding up her hands in surrender even though the can was still in one of her hands.

"Okay, maybe you didn't." He said with a short nod. Tossing the towel aside, he ran his finger over a glob of cream from the counter then flicked it at her, causing it to splatter on her face and front of her shirt. Hearing a surprised gasp from her, he flashed her a smile before adding,"But that was on purpose."

"Jamie!" She exclaimed. Shooting him a playful glare, she pointed the can toward him and pressed down to purposely cover him with whipped cream, hearing the kids cheering behind her.

He let out a laugh and held up his hands to stop the flow of cream from hitting him, then began to wrestle the can away from her. He was able to turn the can around to point toward her, causing her to let out a squeal of laughter when the cream began to get into her hair and down her arms.

With her hands covered in cream, the can began to slip from her hand and he was able to steal it away from her. Seeing that he had it now, she held up her hands as she tried to call for a truce.

"Truce? You want a truce now?" Jamie questioned with raised eyebrows. "Kinda convenient now that I have the can."

"Come on, Jams. You could be the bigger man and just put the can down." Noelle joked, keeping her hands up.

"Get her, Uncle Jamie!" Jack called out, followed by his brother yelling out,"Yeah, get her!"

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Noelle questioned as she turned her head to look at them. She flicked some cream from her hand toward them, causing them to laugh even harder. Turning back to look at her boyfriend, seeing that he had the can pointed toward her, she gave him a pout like before and heard him let out a groan.

"No, not fair, Nol. You always do this!" He said as he pointed a finger at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said innocently, taking a step toward him.

"And then you do that." He stated. "You pull me in with the pout and make me feel bad for wanting to retaliate, then you throw out the innocent act to catch me off guard." He added, sitting the can down on the counter.

"I don't do that." She said, feigning shock as she took another step and came to a stop in front of him.

"Yes you do." He argued. "Which means you're about to-" Before he could finish his sentence, her hand shot out to grab the can, but he was faster than her and jerked it off of the counter, giving her a smug laugh. "Too slow, Nol."

She playfully narrowed her eyes at him, then rubbed her hands together, spreading the whipped cream before lightly hitting his cheek to leave a handprint of cream on the side of his face. She let out a loud laugh as his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"She got you good, Uncle Jamie!" Sean laughed as he and his brother continued to watch them.

"What's happening here? I thought you two were on my side?" Jamie asked his nephews.

"I have a proposition for you." Noelle quietly said to Jamie as she leaned closer to him so the boys wouldn't overhear.

"What?" Jamie questioned, his tone matching hers.

She didn't say a word as she motioned between them, then nodded her head toward the two boys standing behind her, suggesting the two of them gang up on the kids. He let out a laugh and nodded his head, then raised a hand, but kept it low so the kids wouldn't see as he counting to three before the two spun around to attack the kids.

Jamie used the can to spray Jack as Noelle wrapped her arms around Sean which caused all the whipped cream from her shirt and arms to get all over him. He laughed and tried to push her away as she rubbed the side of her face against his to spread more of the cream on him.

With everything going on, it felt good to let loose and laugh over something as silly as a whipped cream fight. After hearing the boys laughter ringing throughout the kitchen, she could almost forget the scream of sirens when she arrived at the scene earlier. As she stepped back and watched the young boys rolling around on the ground and play fight with the can of whipped cream they stole from Jamie, she could almost forget how hours earlier she was standing in front of a white SUV and looking at the charred remains of an innocent woman who was just trying to do the right thing.

For a moment, she could almost forget that Linda was out there somewhere praying that someone would find her soon and bring her home, just like she had done herself months ago in that house- but only for a moment.

She almost got lost in her negative thoughts until she felt an arm wrap around her waist, followed by Jamie pressing a kiss on the side of her head before whispering in her ear,"It's okay, baby. It's going to be okay. I'm right here with you, okay?"

Turning her head to the side to look at him, she gave him a short nod while he wiped away cream and moisture from the tears she had shed. He laid his hands on either side of her face and rested his forehead against hers while the kids still rolled around on the floor playing.

He knew where her mind was wandering off to, but he was determined to keep her in this moment and keep her present with him by doing the only thing he could think of- by giving her comfort and letting her know she wasn't alone. She would never be alone again.

•••

When a stream of sunlight landed on Jamie's face, he let out a groan and threw out an arm to pull Noelle against him to lay on his chest like the way she had fallen asleep on him the night before, but when he felt nothing but a cold space beside him, he opened his eyes to see that he was laying on the makeshift bed alone.

The night before, after cleaning up the mess from the whipped cream fight, everyone changed and drank their hot chocolate. Jamie told the kids to pick out a movie while Noelle suggested they grab all the pillows and blankets they could find to sleep on the living room floor together.

They were only ten minutes into the movie when Jack fell asleep against Jamie's shoulder, while Sean passed out with his head resting on the small of Noelle's back- it was only five more minutes after that when Noelle was lightly snoring on his chest causing him to smile and let out a content sigh as he pulled her closer to him before closing his eyes to welcome sleep.

A noise from the kitchen brought him out of his thoughts and caused him to stand up from the floor. He let out a moan and stretched out his back, thinking to himself he was getting too old to sleep on the floor, then made his way toward the noise.

Pushing the kitchen door open, he couldn't help but smile when he saw Noelle try to flip a pancake in a pan while Jack and Sean cheered her on. The pancake almost hit the floor until she quickly grabbed it with her fingers and tossed it back into the pan. He heard her let out a hiss and shake her hand as she waited for the pain to pass.

Hearing a chuckle coming from behind, Noelle sat the pan down then quickly spun around and saw Jamie leaning against the doorway watching her with an amused grin on his face.

"How long have you been there?" She questioned, causing the boys to turn to see who she was talking to.

"Long enough to fear that you might burn down my kitchen." He answered as he walked into the room. He spoke to his nephews when they called out a greeting, then walked over to the stove where she was standing. Pressing a kiss on the side of her head, he added,"Or burn yourself."

"Yeah, I'm a little rusty on my flipping." She laughed as she shook her hand again, her fingers still tingling a little.

"You remember what my mom said, right? It's all in the wrist." He reminded her with a smile as he thought of the times his mother let them help her cook brunch on the weekends.

Glancing over his shoulder and seeing his nephews talking to each other, he turned back to look at Noelle as he grabbed her hand then brought it up to his lips. He pressed them against the tips of her fingers, causing her mouth to slightly part as she took in a breath. After feeling his lips against her skin, the tingles in her fingers were quickly forgotten as her whole body began to tingle instead.

He raised her eyes to look at her, keeping her fingers inches from his mouth. As his eyes slammed into hers, she recognized the look on his face- he looked like breakfast was the last thing on his mind, instead he was craving something else, which caused a fluttering in her stomach. Unfortunately things like that would have to wait since the kids were in the room with them.

Seeing her bit her bottom lip to hold back a whimper, a smile appeared on his face as he whispered,"Better?"

Nodding her head to answer, she blew out a breath, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

Taking a step closer and seeing how he was affecting her, he couldn't stop himself from leaning toward her and running his tongue over his bottom lip. He watched her chest rise and fall as her breathing picked up. Moving toward her ear, he whispered,"Your pancake is burning."

"Hm?" She hummed not able to concentrate on anything but him pressed against her with his hot breath against her skin.

Pulling back, he chuckled as he nodded toward the stove,"I said your pancake is burning."

"Oh!" She exclaimed as she turned her head, finally understanding what he was saying. She softly swore under her breath so the kids wouldn't hear then grabbed the pan from the stove before tossing the burnt food into the trash.

"Here, I'll take over." Jamie offered as he lightly brushed her to the side.

"You don't have to do that. I can cook, you know." Noelle argued.

"Sure you can, Nol." He sarcastically said, turning her around and nudging her toward the end of the counter where Jack and Sean were sitting.

"Hey, I can make some things." She pointed out as she grabbed a plate of bacon on the way. Holding out the plate, she stated,"I made bacon all by myself with no help."

"Did you fry it or-"

"She used the microwave." Jack spoke up.

"Hey! What happened to not telling Uncle Jamie about the microwave?" Noelle asked, looking over at the young boy. She sat the plate down on the counter in front of the boys, then playfully ruffled Jack's hair before sitting down on the barstool beside him.

"I knew it!" Jamie laughed. Glancing at her from over his shoulder, he pointed the spatula at her,"The only kind of cooking you can do is microwave cooking."

"I can do more than cook in a microwave." She stated.

"Like what? Pour cereal?" He joked.

"I like cereal." Sean said. "I'll eat it all the time if I could."

"Thank you, Sean!" Noelle exclaimed as she looked over Jack's head to shot him a smile. "See! Cereal can be a meal."

"Says the girl who thinks throwing popcorn in the microwave is cooking." Jamie said as he looked over at her again. When he saw her stick her tongue out at him he laughed then turned back toward the stove and slipped a couple of pancake onto a plate then started on making a couple more.

"I like popcorn too." Sean stated, while his brother chimed in to agree with him.

"Ha! See, in our opinion popcorn is its own food group, so it counts as a meal." Noelle said over to her boyfriend. Turning to look at the boys beside her, she flashed them a smile,"Thanks, boys. I knew you two were my favorite Reagans for a reason."

"Wait, what was that?" Jamie questioned as he turned around with two plates in his hands. He walked over to the trio at the counter and sat one plate in front of Sean, then went to sit the other plate in front of Noelle, but at the last second sat it down in front of Jack.

Turning his head to look at her when she let out a scoff, he joked,"After a comment like that, you don't get any."

"I thought you said you shouldn't come between Noelle and food?" Jack questioned.

"He shouldn't. You would think he would have learned by now." Noelle answered as she playfully glared at him. "This is like the cracker jack's incident all over again."

"What's the cracker jack's incident?" Sean asked.

"Years ago, your Uncle Joe took me and your Uncle Jamie to a baseball game." Noelle began to explain.

"It was our first baseball game." Jamie added.

"Right, our first one." Noelle said, then got back to the story. "I had a box of cracker jack's that Joe bought me after someone knocked a bag of popcorn out of my hands. I had some left when I went to the bathroom, when I got back the box was empty because your Uncle Jamie ate the rest and stole the prize out of it-"

"Allegedly." Jamie cut in. "I allegedly stole it, but you have no proof."

"Did you steal it, Uncle Jamie?" Jack asked.

"Hm." Jamie hummed as he tilted his head up, as if he was deep in thought. After a moment, he dropped his head, a grin on his face as he said,"I plead the fifth."

Noelle let out a groan as she bit into a piece of bacon, before mumbling,"I hate lawyer Jamie."

With a laugh, he turned around to walk back over to the stove and grabbed another plate, then made his way back over to her to set it down in front of her as he shot her a wink. She gave him a smile, then looked over at the kids beside her. "Sorry boys, Uncle Jamie is my favorite Reagan again."

The small group laughed and then began to silently eat until minutes later once most of the plates were empty. Jamie pushed his plate aside and took a sip of his juice before asking the others what the plan was for the day since he and Noelle took the day off.

"Well..." Noelle began to say, laying the fork in her empty plate. Turning to look at Jamie, who was sitting beside her,"Me and the boys were talking about that earlier, and actually we came up with an idea, then voted on it and you lost the vote so we're going with our plan."

"And what is this grand plan?" Jamie asked as he grabbed a couple of empty plates and began to walk over to the sink.

"We're gonna grab Daisy and then-"

"We're going to the park!" Sean interrupted his brother, he had a hard time holding in his excitement.

"That's actually a good plan." Jamie nodded. "We can go when I get back."

"Where are you going?" Jack asked.

"I have a quick errand to run." He answered, not wanting to go into details. If he told the boys he was meeting up with Frank, they might want to tag along to see their grandfather, but this wasn't a normal visit. He was meeting with his father to tell him the idea he had about the tricked out Hummers he read about the night before.

"I also thought we could pack a lunch and just make a day of it." Noelle said, bringing the subject back to the plan to distract the kids.

Shooting her a playful grin, Jamie joked,"Or we can buy lunch."

"I can make sandwiches, Jamie." She laughed. "It's not that hard."

"We'll help." Sean offered.

"Now I feel better about it." Jamie teased as he walked around the counter and dropped a kiss on top of Noelle's head.

"Ha ha." She said sarcastically as she playfully pushed him away from her, telling him to get out of here. She heard him laughing as he left the kitchen and called out a bye to the boys.

After hearing the front door close, Noelle stood up and began to grab the rest of the dirty dishes to load in the dishwasher. Turning back around to face the kids, she folded her arms across her chest before playfully asking,"What happened to our alliance, boys? I thought we were on the same team now?"

"We are." Sean said as he slid off of the stool. His brother nodded in agreement, then added,"But, we want to eat something more besides cereal and popcorn."

"I can do more than that!" She laughed. Pointing a finger at them, she added,"You two have been around your Uncle Jamie too much lately."

For the next few minutes, Noelle finished cleaning up the kitchen, then the three began to grab bread, lunch meat and other toppings to make sandwiches. She stood back, letting the kids make the sandwiches however they wanted to- it wasn't because she couldn't, but because it was a nice distraction for them and it was clear they were having fun inventing new combinations for each one.

While they were busy, she slipped her cell phone from her back pocket to send Danny a quick text, wondering if there was an update on Linda. She stared down at the phone, waiting for a response and minutes later read the text he sent back. He told her thanks to Jamie's idea, he and Jackie were on their way to the garage to ask some questions. He swore he was leaving that place with a address- it didn't matter what lines he had to cross. He would burn the place to the ground if had to.

She bit her bottom lip as a worried look appeared on her face. As much as she thought it was a good plan, there was also a chance it could backfire. If the wrong people found out Danny was snooping around the shop it could be disastrous for Linda. After sending him a text back, telling him to be careful, she quickly jerked her head up when Jack called out her name.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"Of course." She answered, worried that he could somehow tell that something was wrong, but his next words surprised the hell out of her.

"When are you and Uncle Jamie getting married?"

"Wh-What?" She breathed out as her eyes widen for a moment. It's not that she didn't want to marry him, that had been her dream since she was younger and fell head over heels in love with her best friend- it was just shocking to hear him ask her that. She couldn't help but wonder where something like that came from.

"I uh, I don't know. That's something me and your Uncle Jamie will have to talk about when the time is right."

"Dad thinks it'll be a few years because Uncle Jamie is slow." Jack said, causing her to chuckle. He wasn't completely wrong- it did take him fifteen years to confess his feelings to her after he kissed her for the first time on her birthday.

"But Mom says she gives it a year because she doesn't think he'll drag his feet this time." Sean pointed out.

"Your parents told you this?" Noelle asked with a confused look on her face. She couldn't imagine them talking about this in front of their kids.

The brothers turned their heads to look at each other, wondering how they should answer the question. Finally, they looked back at her before Jack admitted,"We overheard them talking about it one night when we were suppose to be sleeping."

"They were making a bet." Sean added.

"Of course they were." Noelle laughed.

With a shake of her head, she glanced down at the floor in thought. She really shouldn't have been surprised that they would make a bet on when she and Jamie would marry. She couldn't help but think she hoped Linda will win that bet.

Hearing a small sniffle, she raised her head, a concern look appeared on her face when she saw tears in Sean's eyes. Taking a step toward him, she questioned,"What's wrong, buddy?"

"I miss Mom." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "When is she coming home from the spa?" The family had told the boys that Danny had sent Linda to a spa for a few days of relaxation.

"Soon." Noelle softly said, hoping he couldn't hear the emotion in her voice. She gave him a smile, then reached out to pull both boys toward her and held them close. She dropped a kiss on each of their heads, before whispering,"She'll be home soon, I promise."

With each hand cradling their heads, she pulled in a shaky breath and tilted her head toward the ceiling to sent out a silent prayer that this was one promise she wouldn't have to break.

•••

 _A/N; No your eyes are not playing tricks on you lol- I am finally back with a new chapter! I never meant to leave you all hanging for so long, but life just got in the way. Let's just say this year hasn't been too kind to me. Anyways, I'm hoping I haven't lost any of you!_

 _Thanks to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to DaniNatureGirl391, werks, merdarkandtwisty, peace486, lilnightmare17, traceyaudette, jlmayer, Bethers, mcgeeksgirl, Love. Fiction. 2017, Eddie Reagan, xoxo, Guest- Anica, Sweet-Melodee, rocky1234, Sage Londyn, BLBLF, YourRegularBookie and Kylebluebloods2903 for reviewing._

 _Happy reading!_  
 _xx_


	30. What Makes You Strong

**30; What Makes You Strong**

Walking up the Reagan's porch steps, Spencer came to a stop in front of the door, then rang the doorbell. As he waited, he looked around to take in the neighborhood. It was completely different from the run-down apartments he and his stripper mother grew up in.

His eyes took in the manicured lawns littered with toys and brand new bikes parked in garages and couldn't stop his mind from wandering for a moment about how it would be to grow up in a neighborhood like this.

His mother did the best she could, but he still didn't grew up with a lot of new and nice things. And he didn't have siblings to turn to or a best friend one street over- all he had were bullies who pushed him around and teased him about the type of work his mother did to keep a leaky roof over his head, torn clothes on his back, and semi-healthy food in his stomach.

Hearing the front door open, he was pulled from his thoughts and turned his head to see Erin standing on the other side. A easy smile appeared on his face as he greeted the attractive brunette in front of him.

"Detective Hayes." Erin greeted him back.

Nodding his head, he corrected her,"You can call me Spencer."

"And you can call me Erin." She said back as she opened the door wider to welcome him in.

"What can we help you with?" She questioned after shutting the door.

"Actually I came by to see if I could help with anything." He offered. Shooting her a sympathetic look, he continued,"I heard about what happened to your sister-in-law."

When Noelle swung by the apartment with Jamie and his nephews to grab Daisy, she had pulled him aside to tell him what was going on. He could tell by the look on her face how worried she was and he hated the thought of someone in danger; it brought out the cop in him and he needed to help somehow.

That need has been embedded in him since he was a teenager and he walked into the apartment that fateful day and found his mother's murdered body on the living room floor. After watching her case being unsolved he never wanted that for another family- all the unanswered questions and no closure.

"Thank you. We could use another set of eyes." She said as she began to walk toward the dining room. Hearing his footsteps behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and added,"Danny has a promising lead, but we're in research mode."

At her comment, Spencer made a face, causing her to chuckle and asked,"Not a fan of research, huh?"

"Not really." He answered. "I know it's part of the job description, and sometimes that's how we've solved a case, but I'm more of a hands-on guy. I would rather be out on the streets getting information, than pushing some papers."

"God, you sound like Danny." She commented as she came to a stop. "I didn't think the world could handle two Dannys."

"From what I hear, your brother is a badass detective." He said with a nod. Taking a step closer to her, his voice deep as he added,"But, I can assure you, Erin, I'm nothing like your brother."

"And I can assure you, Spencer, I'm not one of your typical groupies you pick up in bars." She said back, hearing the flirtatious tone he was using. "It'll take more than a pretty face and a flirty comment to make me weak in the knees."

She flashed him a smile before turning to walk away, letting him know she wasn't offended by the comment. It's not the first time a detective hit on her and she knew the best thing to do was to let them know quick she wasn't the type to swoon over a cute smile or sweet words.

Spencer softly chuckled at her comment, his respect for her growing. He had a feeling she was hell on wheels in court.

"Feisty." He nodded in approval as he continued to follow her further into the house.

"We have a helper." Erin announced to her father and grandfather as she walked into the dining room with Spencer coming in behind her.

"Nice to see you again, Detective Hayes." Frank said, reaching out to shake the younger man's hand.

"Commissioner." Spencer nodded as he shook his hand, all the joking before with Erin was gone- it was now time for him to get serious and go into detective mode.

Turning his attention to the other man at the head of the table, he shook his hand as well before taking a seat across from Erin and Frank. He had met the older Reagan men a couple of times through Noelle, but haven't talked to them much before.

"There's a mountain of stuff here." Erin stated as she grabbed a few folders. She dropped a couple in front of Spencer, then opened up another one and began to look through the papers inside.

"They got to have someone on the inside." Frank said, looking up from the papers he had been reading.

Spencer nodded his head in agreement, then said,"My money's on the prosecutor."

"Lyle?" Erin asked in surprise as she raised her head to look at him across from her.

"Mm-hmm." He hummed. "There was something off about that press conference. The way he just threw Danny under the bus like that."

"The thought has crossed my mind." Frank nodded. "In cases like this, any prosecutor should know the importance of keeping your witness identity underwraps."

"Plus he seemed like a little weasel." Henry added.

"Grandpa." Erin warned as she shot him a look.

"He's not wrong." Spencer spoke up. When she turned her attention to him, he smiled and added,"He did look like a weasel."

"Well, in any case, we have no proof." Frank pointed out.

"Erin had a good idea, but it went right over my head." Henry said, getting them back to the subject. "Something about where these phones were purchased."

"I was just saying that we need to ask TARU to make a subset of where all these throwaway phones are sold." Erin said, repeating what she told Henry earlier before her father or Spencer arrived.

Nodding his head, Frank said,"If they are mostly sold in the same area, then we can zero in on the location and find the mole."

"Chances are the place the phones are purchased will be close to where the suspect lives." Spencer suggested. "I can't tell you the times I've busted a stupid criminal because of that. Sometimes the person gets cocky and think they won't get caught, so they visit the store closest to their house out of convenience."

"Sounds like something a weasel would do." Henry pointed out, earning another look from Erin.

"Exactly!" Spencer exclaimed as he pointed at the older man.

"I'll make the call." Erin said, reaching for her cell phone while the men around the table got back to work.

•••

"Here we are." Jamie announced as he pulled Noelle's SUV into the parking lot beside a small deserted playground.

There wasn't much to it; a couple of swings, a slide, an old wooden merry-go-round and a lot of room for two young boys and a dog to run around. The place had been around since Noelle and Jamie were kids and they had always played there with a few more of the neighborhood kids, but they always felt like it was their special place.

Now that most of the kids around were grown or mostly indoors on their computers or game consoles, the place was basically empty most of the time, but still well taken care of.

"Are you sure we can be here?" Sean asked, leaning forward from the backseat.

"Yeah, there's no one else here." Jack added from beside his younger brother.

"That's what makes this place so awesome!" Noelle exclaimed as she turned her head to look at them and reach back to pet her dog, Daisy. "Me and your Uncle Jamie use to play here all the time."

"Really?" Jack questioned as he glanced around, taking in all the open space surrounding them.

"Yeah." Jamie nodded. Pointing toward the merry-go-round, he added,"But whatever you do, don't let Nol on the merry-go-round. She's banned from it."

"Why?" Sean asked.

"I fell off of it and broke my arm." Noelle answered. Cutting her eyes over to her boyfriend, she added,"But instead of talking about that, I think we should talk about how your Uncle Jamie is banned from the slide."

"How about we don't talk about that." Jamie said back as he made a face and shot her a look.

"Oh, no, we're talking about this." Noelle said with a laugh.

He shook his head and tried to argue, but his nephews in the back begged for the story, making Noelle laugh harder. Finally giving up, he laid his head back against the seat and felt a chuckle slip past his lips, knowing what was coming.

Turning in her seat to face the boys, Noelle's face went serious as she began to say,"I'm about to tell you two a super important secret and you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay." Sean nodded while his brother promised they wouldn't say a word.

Noelle paused for dramatic effect, then said,"When your Uncle Jamie and I were young, we were a superhero fighting duo. We went by the names J-Boy and Kid Kelley, and we solved all kinds of crime in the neighborhood."

Looking over at Jamie, she added,"I mean, we single-handedly kept the criminals away, right, Jams?"

"That we did. No one was a match for us." He said, his tone serious.

"Right." She nodded. "And our biggest villain was a neighborhood bully named Bobby Romano."

"He stole Nol's skateboard once and she beat him with it." Jamie added, causing the two boys in the back to laugh.

"No, no, I didn't beat him with it." She argued. Turning to look at the boys in the back, she added,"I only hit him with it once-"

"And broke his nose." Jamie cut in.

"Yes, okay, that I did do." Noelle chuckled. Looking back at Sean and Jack, she continued,"Which your dad told me to do."

"Dad really told you to do that?" Sean asked.

"One time I had a bully messing with me and Dad told me not to let him push me around and stand up for myself." Jack said.

"That's pretty much what Danny told us." Jamie said, butting in. "But, Nol translated that to hitting him with the skateboard."

"Well, anyways, the point is..." Noelle began to say, trying to get back to her story. "He was a big bully and one day while a bunch of us were at the park, he took a toy away from a younger kid.

"We were not gonna stand by and let him do that, so we grabbed our capes and masks and quickly changed into our costumes. Then your Uncle Jamie- with his bright red cap blowing in the wind- climbed on top of the slide and announced to the whole playground that he was J-Boy and I was Kid Kelley and we were there to save the day."

"Did you? Did you save the day?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, did you kick that bully's butt?" Jack questioned.

"Nope, we didn't. End of story. Let's eat lunch." Jamie said, reaching for the door handle.

"No, wait. That's not the end of the story." Noelle laughed as she reached out to stop him. "I ran toward the bully and Jamie had the bright idea to try to be all cool and kinda glide down the slide with his feet- which, I have to admit would have looked cool if it worked, but instead he slipped and fell, and the utility belt got caught on something at the top and he was just stuck there for bit upside down."

When she paused to laugh, he shot her a look, then said,"It wasn't funny, Nol. It was traumatizing hanging there."

"It wasn't that traumatizing and, besides, you weren't hanging there for long." She pointed out before breaking out in another fit of laughter.

"Why? What happened next?" Jack asked, both he and his brother were on the edge of their seats waiting for the rest of the story.

"What happened next was Kid Kelley had to go on a rescue mission to save her J-Boy." Noelle announced.

"I don't think that really classified as a rescue mission, baby." Jamie pointed out.

Ignoring what he said, she continued,"Anyway, I ran up the slide and pulled him loose. He tried to get back up on his feet, but he lost his balance and caused both of us to roll down the slide."

She paused for a moment as the two young boys began to laugh out loud. Once they calmed down some, she said,"Thankfully neither one of us were hurt, just some cuts and bruises, but your grandma forbid him to ever go near a slide again."

"Were you forbidden from the slide too?" Sean asked Noelle.

"No, but she probably should have been." Jamie answered before she could.

Noelle's mouth dropped open in surprise as she turned to look at him. "What? Why? I didn't do anything."

He shot her a look, as if she should already know the answer to that question, but before he could say something, Jack spoke up.

"Mom forbid me from the swings once because I pushed Sean too high and made him cry."

"I remember that." Sean said, his voice low and his mood dropping as he thought about his mom. He was glad that she was taking a break for herself and going to a spa, but he missed her and wished she would come home soon.

Hearing the sad tone of his voice, Noelle glanced in the backseat and saw the younger boy had his arm wrapped around Daisy- while the dog licked the side of his face, trying her best to cheer him up.

Looking back at Jamie, she saw he noticed the shift of the kids' moods when Linda was mentioned. She was relieved that they believed their mom was at a spa instead of the truth or she knew they would be even more worried about her like she and Jamie were.

"What do you say we go eat some lunch now and then play on the merry-go-round?" Jamie suggested, hoping to distract and cheer up his nephews.

"Noelle isn't allowed on the merry-go-round." Jack reminded him.

"I'll make an exception this time." Jamie said, flashing his girlfriend a wink and causing her to chuckle.

After exiting the car and going to the back, Noelle handed Sean a blanket while Jamie gave Jack the oversized bag of food. The boys, along with Daisy, ran toward a grassy area near the swings and threw out the blanket for all of them to sit on. While they were reaching into the bag to take out the food, Noelle turned to Jamie and stopped him before he could grab the cooler full of water bottles and can of soda to drink.

"Have you heard anything from Danny yet?" She asked with her voice low. Even if they kids weren't around to overhear, she didn't want to take any chances.

Jamie slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and glanced down at it. Seeing that he had no new messages, he gave her a shake of the head and slipped it back into his pocket.

"I just hope he got an address from someone at that garage you told him about." Realizing who she was talking about, she blew out a chuckle, then added,"What am I talking about? Of course Danny will get an address. He won't leave that place without one."

"Yeah, you know Danny; he never gives up on a case and with it being Linda, he's gonna do whatever it takes to find her." He stated.

There had been plenty of times his brother had crossed a line or two to solve a case and sometimes he thought to himself that he might have pushed things too far, but in this instance, he could completely understand. He would do the same if it was Noelle missing- he would move heaven and earth to find her, he would even walk through hell itself to save her.

Glancing over at her, he knew he didn't have to speak those words out loud, she could read it on his face. Not wanting to bring the mood down even further, he gave her a quick kiss, then nodded toward the kids to suggest they go join them.

Jamie reached for the cooler, then paused again when he remembered her story earlier in the car. Turning his head, he shot her a look as he asked,"Oh, by the way, the slide story? Really? You had to tell 'em that."

"I'm sorry, honey." Noelle said, her tone sounding sincere, but he knew her better than that.

"No, you're not." He shook his head, seeing her lip twitch as she tried not to laugh.

"No, I'm not." She repeated as the chuckle she tried to hold back slipped out.

He laughed with her for a moment, then said,"You know, you left out a part of that story."

"I did?" She feigned surprise.

"Mm-hm." He hummed. "You forgot to mention that you were the one who dared me to stand on the slide."

"Oops." She said innocently.

"Oops?" He repeated with raised eyebrows. "Is that all you have to say?"

"You really shouldn't give into peer pressure, Jams." She teased.

"Oh, is that right?" He questioned before reaching out to tickle her side, causing her to squeal out and jerk away from him.

"No, don't!" She exclaimed when he tickled her again. She tried to step away from him, but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him.

With her back pressed against his chest and his arm holding her tight against him, she couldn't get away from his other hand as it went to her side and continued to tickle.

Her laughter got the attention of the boys and Daisy- the latter running over to her owner to bark and jump around. The kids weren't much help as they yelled out to their uncle to keep ticking her. She made a note to herself to get them back later.

"Stop... Stop it! I'm sorry!" She called out between laughter.

"What was that? You're sorry?" He questioned as he paused for a moment for her to catch her breath and nod her head to answer. He thought about it for a moment, then began to tickle her again. "That's good, but somehow I don't think you mean it."

"I'm sorry, Jams!" She tried again, then laid her head back against his shoulder to add,"I'm really really sorry!"

"That's better!" He exclaimed.

He removed his hand from her side and turned her to face him before pressing his lips against hers for a gentle kiss.

Even if she wasn't a fan of the tickling, she couldn't stop herself from smiling against his lips because she knew what he was doing- he knew how worried she was about Linda and what could or couldn't be happening right now, and he was trying to distract her; just like he had always done in the past when something was bothering her.

With one arm hooked around his neck, she laid her other hand on the side of his face and pulled back to look at him. "I love you, you know that, right?" She softly said, her words causing him to smile.

"I know that." He nodded before resting his forehead against hers.

For a moment, it felt like they were in their own world; there was no looming darkness waiting for her or family members missing- just bright blue skies, the smell of fresh grass and sunlight on their faces. In this moment it was like they were kids again- like they were J-Boy and Kid Kelley- and they knew together they could get through anything.

"It's going to be okay, Nol." Jamie whispered, knowing she needed to hear the words.

Hearing a bark, followed by the kids yelling out for them, he pulled away from her and saw a sense of calm come over her. She was still worried, of course, but the small moment between them gave her the strength to believe his words- to believe that it was going to be okay.

After giving her a quick peck on the lips, he saw her pet Daisy while he grab the small cooler from the back of the car and they made their way over to the kids. Jamie passed out a round of soda- telling his nephews after one can they had to switch to water, then sat down beside Noelle who had sat across from the boys. She reached out to grab a brown paper bag lunch the kids prepared earlier, but they called out for her to wait.

Grabbing the brown bag closest to him, Sean held it out to her and said,"This one is for you."

"Thanks, Sean." She smiled as she took the bag from him.

Opening the bag, she peeked inside and let out a gasp when she saw a small plastic container nestled in between a ziplock sandwich bag and a bag of chips. Pulling the container out, she glanced at both boys before asking,"What is this?"

"When we stopped at the store earlier we got that out of a gumball machine." Jack explained.

"It's to replace the Cracker Jack prize Uncle Jamie stole from you." His brother added.

Noelle's mouth dropped open in surprise before she looked over at her boyfriend and began to laugh when she saw him shaking his head. She couldn't stop smiling as she popped off the top and saw a small multi-colored rubber ball inside the container.

"Allegedly." Jamie tried to argue. "Everyone always forgets to add allegedly."

"We took a vote earlier and we think you did take it, Uncle Jamie." Jack spoke up, referring to himself and his brother.

"Yes!" Noelle cheered as she threw her arms in the air. Pointing to the two younger boys, she added,"I knew you two were my favorite Reagans for a reason."

"Wait, no... That's not- why am I getting ganged up on?" Jamie questioned over the others' laughter, which only caused them to laugh more.

Rolling his eyes, he playfully added,"Yeah, keep it up and all of you will be walking home."

"It's my car!" Noelle reminded him before breaking out into another fit of laughter.

"Looks like you're walking home, Uncle Jamie." Sean said with a laugh.

"Oh, really? We'll see about that." Jamie playfully growled as he grabbed the back of Sean's shirt and jerked him over toward him. "Maybe we'll just leave you here with the Purple Possum People and let them take care of you."

"Purple Possum People?" Jack asked, his confused face identical to his brother's.

With a laugh, Noelle gestured toward the small wooded area on the left side of the playground area and said,"They live over there in the woods."

"One time Bobby Romano tried to scare all of us younger kids by telling us there was a Birdman living in the woods." Jamie explained. "He said if anyone dared to enter the woods, you will wake the Birdman and once you heard the sound of birds calling out and flying around, then it's too late- the Birdman has found you and will peck your eyes out."

"Really?" Sean asked, a little fearfully as he leaned back against his uncle.

"I bet Bobby was just being a jerk, right?" Jack asked as he turned his head to look at Jamie and then Noelle for an answer.

"Right, there is no such thing as a Birdman." Noelle said, as Jamie nodded in agreement.

"So, Nol, told all the kids about the Purple Possum People." Jamie stated with a nod toward his girlfriend. "They're part possum and part human and they live in the trees. You don't see them often, but they're always there to protect the kids who want to play in the woods."

Pausing for a moment, he added,"I forgot why they were purple though."

"Because they ate a lot of grapes." Noelle pointed out, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, causing the others to laugh.

"Right, how could I forget about the grapes?" Jamie laughed. "No one knew who to believe- Bobby and Nol, both swore they were right."

"I told everyone to come back to the park the next day and I promise I would prove that Purple Possum People were real." She added.

"How did you prove it?" Jack asked, he and his brother were completely into the story.

"I went into the woods."

"Alone?" Sean questioned with wide eyes. He knew there was no way he would be brave enough to step into the woods alone.

"I had J-Boy with me." She answered as she smiled at her boyfriend. Growing up, she was hardly ever alone during an adventure, Jamie always had her back- the two were a package deal. "I also had my Polaroid camera I got earlier that year for my birthday so I could take a picture of the Purple Possum People."

"Did you find 'em?" Sean asked.

"No-"

"Because they're not real either, right?" Jack interrupted her. Turning to face her, he added,"It's something you made up so the kids wouldn't be scared, right?"

"Well, we did find a stash of grapes that day- which is what they eat, so you tell me?" She questioned with a secret smile on her face.

She left out the part of while she and Jamie were talking to Bobby and the other kids that day, explaining their plan to find the Purple Possum People, they had asked Joe to sneak into the woods and hide a bunch of grapes for them to find as 'proof'.

"Wow." Sean breathed out as he turned his attention to the woods, his overactive mind already imagining what he could find if he were to explore the woods. "Can we look for 'em?"

"Maybe next time." Jamie answered.

"Yeah, for now, why don't you two go play with Daisy?" Noelle suggested. The dog had been laid out beside her sleeping, but jumped awake when she heard the word 'play'.

"Can we play with the ball with her?" Jack asked, referring to the small ball they had given her earlier from the gumball machine.

"That's a little too small, I'm worried she might accidentally swallow it." Noelle answered. Digging around in her bag, she pulled out a bright colored tennis ball and handed it to him. "You can throw that one for her, but just don't lose it, okay? It's her favorite one."

"Okay!" Both boys promised as they ran from the blanket and called out for the dog- who chased after them.

Noelle silently watched them play, a soft smile on her lips as she heard a mixture of their laughter and Daisy's happy barks. After seeing Jamie move from her side to behind her from the corner of her eye, she felt him pull her back against him and place a tender kiss on the side of her head.

"You know we're gonna have to sneak some grapes in the woods the next time we bring them here, right?" He questioned, breaking the silence.

Breathing out a chuckle, she nodded her head and said,"I know." Hearing the boys laugh out loud again, she laid her head back against his shoulder, then added,"It'll be worth it to see them that happy."

"Mm-hm." He muttered in agreement as the two continued to watch while his nephews took turns throwing the ball and waited for Daisy to bring it back to them.

"Sean got upset earlier." She quietly said, breaking the silence as she remembered the tears in his eyes earlier as he thought about his mother.

"Why? What happened?" He questioned, tilting his head down to look at her.

"Not long after you left to meet up with your dad, they were talking about Danny and Linda, and then he just got so sad and I asked him what was wrong and he said he missed his mom." She explained, leaving out their question to her about when she and Jamie were going to get married- now was not the time for that.

Between Linda being missing, Jimmie creeping around somewhere, and the fact that they haven't been dating long- it was a little too soon for marriage talk.

Blowing out a breath, she turned her head and caught his eyes as she added,"If something goes wrong and they lose their mother-"

"They won't." He cut her off. He brushed some hair from the side of her face, his tone honest as he added,"I really believe that."

Noelle flashed him a small smile, then leaned forward to press her lips against his for a tender kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, he smiled and asked,"What was that for?"

"For doing what you always do." When he shot her a confused look, she added,"For always staying positive and looking on the bright side. You have always found a way to distract me and keep me calm- to help me believe that things are going to be okay."

Running a finger over his bottom lip, she wiped away a bit of lip gloss she left behind and smiled. "You know, actually, you kinda started the whole Purple Possum People thing."

Jamie lowered his eyebrows and thought back to their past, then shook his head and said,"No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did." She argued. "Well, you didn't come up with the name, but remember, we were five or six, and your mom brought us here to this park. We were kicking a ball around and it went into those woods. I told you I would get it, but when I got to 'em and I saw how dark it was in the woods, I chickened out."

Grabbing his hand, she laced their fingers together, then continued,"But you came up beside me and grabbed my hand and told me there were magically creatures living in the woods that would protect me while I searched for the ball. You swore you saw 'em once."

With a chuckle, he shook his and said,"God, I forgot all about that."

"Well, I didn't." She said smiling at him. "And that day when Bobby was going on and on about the Birdman, I remembered you telling me that and that's where I got the Purple Possum People thing from."

After giving him another quick kiss, she added,"So, you see, Jamie Reagan, you keep me grounded; you always have. It's one of the many things I love about you."

"What else do you love about me?" He questioned with a grin before giving her a gentle kiss.

With a laugh, she pulled back to look at him. "Okay, now, I think you're just fishing for compliments."

"Maybe I am." He joked as he pulled her closer to him and went to kiss her again, but before their lips could meet, he heard his cell phone beep.

Pulling away from her, he slipped the phone from his pocket and read the latest text message. He quickly jumped up to his feet and began to grab the uneaten lunches and tossed them back into the bigger bag they had loaded them in earlier that day.

"What's going on?"

"We gotta go." He answered, seeing she was even more confused. He stopped gathering things for a moment to look down at her, his voice low so the boys wouldn't overhear,"He found her. Danny found Linda."

"What?" She breathed out. "And-And she's okay?"

With a smile on his face, Jamie squatted down in front of her and took her hands in his. "She's okay. He's bringing her to Dad's after she gets checked out at the hospital."

"Oh, my God!" She exclaimed before throwing her arms around him and almost knocking him back on his butt. "Oh, my God, he found her!"

"Yeah, he did." He said, holding her tight.

Pulling back to look at her, he gave her a quick kiss then told her to round up the boys and Daisy while he loaded the car. She jumped to her feet and called out to them, then turned to watch her boyfriend with a smile on her face. He was right before, everything was going to be okay- Linda was coming home.

•••

"I'm glad your sister-in-law was found." Spencer said sincerely while Erin walked with him to the door.

The two; along with her father and grandfather had researched basically all day looking for the mole, when they got the call with the good news- Danny had found Linda. She was dehydrated and had a few cuts and bruises, but overall she was fine and she was coming home.

"Me too." Erin breathed out, feeling a sense of relief.

After hours of pushing papers and calling in any favors she had, it was like it finally hit her that Linda was safe and it was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Of course, now, came the next part- getting Linda through the trauma of being taken and locked up for hours, confronting and arresting Lyle- who they discovered was the mole, and Danny still had to testify against Raymundo Salazar to make sure he finally went to jail and answered for all the pain and suffering he had caused people through the years.

Shooting the detective a smile, she said,"Thanks for your help. You know you're welcomed to stay."

To celebrate Linda's return, the family was getting together and ordering takeout. After all the hard work he put in, she felt it was only right to invite him to it- which he politely declined.

"Thanks, but, I need to get back to my own research." He said back, referring to his hunt for Jimmie.

"I thought you hated research." She teased, reminding him of what he said earlier.

"I do." He chuckled. "But sometimes that's all you can do, right?"

With a nod, she pointed out,"Research came in handy today. We found our mole. So, see, sometimes it's not all bad."

"True, but I would still rather be out doing something." Coming to a stop at the front door, he turned to face her as he added,"I didn't become a cop to sit on my ass... my ass looks too good for that."

Erin playfully rolled her eyes and laughed at his comment, then growing serious asked,"Why did you become a cop?"

Seeing his face fall and his body tense up, she knew she had hit a sore subject, causing her to quickly add,"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I shouldn't have asked-"

"It's okay." Spencer said, waving off her apology.

Pulling in a deep breath, he said,"Let's just say, I was tired of how some cops handled certain cases. I was tired of certain crimes basically being ignored because the victim wasn't important enough in their eyes. Everyone- no matter where or how they grew up, or how much money they have- deserves the same treatment.

"I wanted to help the ones that no one else wanted to help... the ones who basically lost hope and needed someone to actually care enough to help."

Looking anywhere but at her, his mind began to wander as he thought of the day Noelle came into the station needing help; she was one of those people who needed someone to care and needed his help desperately, but he just sent her away- something that he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived.

With a small shake of the head, his voice grew rough as he added,"Of course, there was the time someone came to me for help, but I sent her away."

"Noelle?" Erin guessed, her tone soft and her face free of judgement.

But even if she wasn't judging him, it was clear to see he was judging himself for the choice he made that day. She knew the feeling; she, too, had to turn people away through the years for one reason or another and it always made her feel guilty.

She opened her mouth to tell him no one blamed him, but he cut her off with a bitter chuckle. "And I could explain it away, you know? I could tell you that I just closed a hard case where I had to tell a grieving mother that her sixteen year old that she thought was a runaway- was really kidnapped and murdered, and I already had a new case on my desk beside three other cold cases that I look into in my spare time because I promised those families years ago I would find their loved ones and bring them closure.

"I could tell you all of that, but it doesn't matter; because the truth is, in that moment when she first walked over to my desk, I became the type of cop I hated and I sent her away." He lowered his head and shook it, seeing the look of disappointment on her face that day before she walked away. It was a look he would never forget.

"Minutes later, I realized my mistake and ran after her, but it was too late, she was already gone from the station." He quietly said.

"I can understand how that would haunt someone, but you came through in the end, Spencer." Erin said, trying to get through to him and make him see that he still made a difference and that he wasn't the type of cop he despised. "She had basically lost hope, but you were the one who found her and you were the one who saved her. You were there before it was too late."

"I almost wasn't there in time." He stated as his mind flashed back to that basement and the blood that stained his hands and floor. "I've seen a lot of bad and scary things in my line of work, but that day terrified me."

Raising his head to look at her, she pulled in a sharp breath at seeing every emotion he was feeling playing out on his face.

"There was so much blood." He said, his voice shaking as he relieved that day. "And when my eyes landed on Elle, I honestly thought she was dead... she was pale and clammy and I-I couldn't tell if she was breathing. She was just so still, you know? Just-Just laying there with her eyes closed and not moving- not even an inch and I thought this was it Spencer... this-this amazing woman needed your help, but you let her down in the worst possible way."

Erin lowered her eyebrows in concern as she watched him swallow hard and remember one of the worst days of his life. Reaching up, she wiped a tear from her eye, then laid a hand over her heart as she hurt for him.

"I just stood there for a minute, you know? I-I couldn't move, I didn't even flinch when Jimmie started yelling for her in the background, all I could do was stare at her and hate myself, but then something happened... this incredibly strong woman wasn't giving up. I saw her chest rise and fall and I felt like I could finally breathe, because I realized in that moment, it wasn't too late and I could save her. I had a second chance to do the right thing and I'll be damned if I ever let her down again.

"I ran over to her and pressed something against the wound, but there was so much blood... so much blood." His voice trailed off as he looked down at his hands; the memory so real he was surprised to see his hands were clean- he just knew they would be covered with her blood again. "She had lost so much blood, they had to give her more right there on the scene- luckily I was the same blood type or she wouldn't have made it to the hospital."

Seeing another hand come into view, he raised his head to see that Erin had taken a few steps closer to him and then felt her warm hand wrap around his as she tried to comfort him.

"You did good, Spencer, because of you she got to come back home to her family and we are all so very grateful for that. You didn't just rescue her, you literally saved her life." She softly said, feeling like he needed to hear that- like he needed to be reminded that that awful day is over and Noelle is alive because of him.

He nodded his head, appreciating her words, but still felt himself stuck in that day.

"That's all I wanted- I wanted to save her and I keep telling myself that she is okay, but sometimes when I look at her or I close my eyes, I still see that pale face and all of that blood, I see her lying so still with her eyes closed, and I hear the panic voices of the paramedics as they work so hard to save her."

Erin's vision blurred with fresh tears as she saw that day the way he did and couldn't believe how close they came to losing Noelle- it would have destroyed them all, it would have been like losing a sibling all over again.

"She told us what happened and I knew she almost died, but I didn't realize..." Her voice trailed off, but he knew what she was thinking- none of them realized exactly how close to death she really was. If there wasn't someone there with her blood type, Noelle wouldn't have been so lucky that day and they would have been having a totally different conversation.

Pulling his hands away, he slipped them into his pockets and cleared his throat. "He came so close to killing her that day, and that was just by accident, he never planned to hurt her like that; so just imagine what kind of damage he could do if he really plotted and planned."

Erin didn't respond to his comment, and really he wasn't looking for one, they both already knew what kind of damage Jimmie could cause. He had already started harassing Noelle again and leaving messages, he went after Jamie and he wouldn't be surprised if he didn't stop until he got rid of Jamie once and for all.

Spencer was also pretty sure Jimmie was behind his attack when he first arrived in the city. He wasn't all that worried about himself though, what he really feared was the moment that Jimmie got his hands on Noelle again- he knew Jimmie wouldn't give up so easily the next time.

If that happened, he was prepared to go above and beyond again to save her- he would not let her down no matter what.

•••

"I make a mean coleslaw, but I can't touch this concoction by Tilden's. I can't identify the mystery ingredient." Henry said holding a bowl of coleslaw as he left the kitchen and walked into the dining room with most of the family walking along behind him- each one holding another dish or plates and glasses to set the table.

"Probably sugar." Erin guessed as she entered the room with silverware in her hands.

After Jamie, Noelle and the kids arrived at the Reagan house; Noelle let Daisy out in the fenced in backyard, then they all discussed what to order for dinner while they waited on Danny and Linda. Now the food had been delivered and the table was being set while everyone listened out for the front door to open.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" Jack asked the question everyone was thinking.

"Well, I guess they're late." Frank said, sitting down in his chair and watching the others sitting down as well.

"They're probably stuck in traffic." Noelle added as she stood behind Jamie's chair. She was too anxious to sit down at the moment.

"I miss Mom." Sean quietly said. Each time he had uttered those words it had broke Noelle's heart.

"You've been a real trooper, Sean." Henry said to him. Turning his attention to the other young boy, he added,"You too, Jack."

Seeing his girlfriend from the corner of his eye, Jamie turned his head to look at Noelle and saw the concern look on her face. Even though she knew Linda was found and on the way home, she was still nervous and would feel better once she saw her with her own eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak to her, knowing how badly she needed to hear again that everything was going to be okay, but before he could say a word, they heard the door open, followed by Danny calling out to announce their arrival.

Blowing out a breath, Noelle turned toward the doorway and smiled when Danny and Linda walked into the room. She, along with everyone else, called out a greeting and welcomed Linda back. The adults watched with smiles on their faces as Linda rushed over to her kids and wrapped her arms around them.

Hearing someone coming up beside her, Noelle turned her head and saw Danny. He gave her a smile and threw an arm around her shoulders, silently thanking her for the pep talk she had given him the day before at the station.

As much as he hated to admit it, there was one small moment where he had his doubts, but she was there to set him straight and give him the verbal ass kicking he needed to save his wife.

"I missed you, Mommy." Sean said, his arms wrapped tight around her waist. "How was your time at the spa?"

"My time at the spa was... fabulous. Those mud baths are awesome." Linda answered, selling the lie her family had started to keep the truth away from her boys.

"I'm really glad to see you, Mom." Jack said, feeling her kiss the top of his head before doing the same to Sean.

"You said it, kid." Danny said with a smile as he watched his wife and kids and thanked God that she was returned to him- he didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her. Not only was she his best friend, but she kept him balanced.

After some of the cases he handled and when things got to be too much in his head, she was able to rein him in and remind him there was still goodness in the world. She loved him unconditionally through his mistakes and his faults, and she had no problem calling him out on his crap when he deserved it.

In short he needed her or he would be half a man without her.

After loving on her boys, Linda stood up and headed for her chair, getting a hug from Frank before she sat down. Seeing her husband sit down beside her, she turned to smile at him and lean toward him for a moment for a quick kiss.

"Hey guys, we've only got a small window for this fish and chips. Otherwise, it's gonna be cold batter and soggy fries." Henry announced to the family, trying to change the mood in the room.

"Can't have that happen." Noelle stated as she finally took her seat beside Jamie.

"Mommy, Grandpa let us stay up until midnight and play video games." Sean said, wanting to recap his days since she had been gone.

"Hey! What did I tell you guys?" Henry spoke up, pretending to scold them.

"Whatever happens with Grandpa has to stay with Grandpa." Jack said, repeating what their great-grandpa had told them before.

"Uncle Jamie let us stay up too. We watched movies and ate lots of pizza and popcorn and he made us triple hot chocolate." Sean continued.

"Wow, you're just telling everything, huh?" Jamie chuckled at his nephew.

"And then Noelle started a whipped cream fight." Jack said.

"Technically, I didn't start it." Noelle argued. Pointing a finger at her boyfriend sitting beside her, she added,"Your Uncle Jamie started it."

"No, you sprayed me first." Jamie reminded her.

"Accidentally... but then you flicked a glob at me and that's how the fight started." She stated.

"Then they turned on us and there was whipped cream everywhere... it was so fun!" Sean exclaimed.

"Sounds like you boys had a great time." Linda said with a chuckle as she shot her family members a grateful smile for keeping her boys distracted while she was missing.

"We did!" Jack said. "Uncle Jamie and Noelle also took us to the park they use to play at as kids."

"Is that the one where you fell down the slide?" Danny asked his brother with a smirk.

"You fell down a slide?" Nicky asked her uncle.

"He didn't just fall down the slide. He got stuck on it first and Noelle had to get him loose and then he knocked 'em both down the slide." Erin explained with a laugh.

"Okay, okay, we are not telling this story again." Jamie called out over his family laughing.

"I would, uh, like to say something." Frank said, getting everyone's attention as the laughter died down. "I don't want to get corny, but I would just like to say that uh, I feel very lucky to have you all here. And I know your mother, your grandmother, would feel the same way. I know people don't make time for this kind of thing nowadays but, uh... I'm glad we do."

Smiling at everyone around the table, he added,"Family's what makes us strong."

Linda softly chuckle as she wiped a tear from her cheek. One look across the table, she saw that Erin and Noelle had tears in their eyes as well from Frank's speech. There wasn't a person around the table that would argue with his comment- no matter what happened in their day-to-day life, they all knew how lucky they were to be able to come together as a family.

Feeling someone take her hand, Noelle turned her head to see Jamie smiling at her. She returned his smile and leaned toward him to rest her head on shoulder, feeling him press a kiss against her forehead. She had always felt the strongest when he was by her side and she had no doubt that they could overcome anything together- just like they had always done as kids.

"And, Linda... " Frank spoke up again, getting the blonde's attention. He gave her a soft smile and said,"I'm glad you had a nice time at the spa."

"Why, thank you." She said back with a teary smile.

"And I thought you might like to say grace." He suggested.

She gave him a nod and closed her eyes, while the rest of the family closed theirs as well. After the hell she went through, she was honored to say grace and silently give her thanks for being returned to her family; Frank was right before- family was what made them all stronger and she knew being with her family would also be what healed her in the end.

•••

 _A/N; I'm sorry I kept you all waiting for another chapter, but I thank you for your patience. I'm really hoping 2018 will be a better writing year for me._

 _Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to Sweet-Melodee, jlmayer, Guest, werks, Guest, mrs Tall Blonde and Dead, DaniNatureGirl391, High Gaurdian, lilnightmare17, NewYorkChicago22061940, traceyaudette, BLBLF, Eddie Reagan, mcgeeksgirl, Guest, Rasiel Hasu, snm1, 50fanofmcgarrett, Sage Londyn, January Lily, clo78, Bridget0619, Guest, Guest of Reagan and anyone else I might have accidentally left out. Thank you all for reviewing since my last update! I hope you all are still around and I haven't lost you!_

 _I hope you all had a great holiday and hope you have a happy new year!_

 _Happy reading!_  
 _xx_


	31. On The Catwalk

**31; O** **n The Catwalk**

In the week that followed Linda's return, things slowly went back to normal for Noelle and the Reagans- or whatever was normal for them before that tragic event.

Linda was dealing the best she could after being abducted. After a friend recommend someone to talk to, she went a couple of times- those moments were still fresh in her mind, but she had recently slept a full night without nightmares, which she considered a victory.

After testifying against Raymundo Salazar and watching him be led away by handcuffs, Danny had taken a few days off and stuck to Linda like glue- driving her slowly crazy and demanding he return back to work.

Another couple who stuck together were Jamie and Noelle.

When the two weren't working, they were at his apartment ordering takeout and spending time on the couch in front of the television. He didn't say, but she knew after what happened to Linda, the drama with Jimmie was front and center in his mind. He wanted to keep his eyes on her at all times, which was fine with her- she had always loved spending time with him and being with him always made her feel safe.

When she was with Jamie she didn't have to worry about looking over her shoulders or jumping at shadows. She could stay in and not feel a pit in her stomach anytime a crowd of people came around her. She didn't have to hold her breath to listen out for footsteps following her anytime she walked down a hall or sidewalk.

She knew her behavior was turning toward unhealthy- always wanting to be locked inside, but she didn't care. Being with Jamie was the only time she could relax and let her guard down- it was the only time she felt comfortable.

Her plan that night was going to be the same as the last previous nights, but then Linda called and had another idea. Her niece was going to be in a fashion show and thought it would be fun if they, along with Erin and Nicky, went together and had a girls night out.

Noelle tried to politely decline, but Linda was stubborn and wouldn't take no for an answer. She, more than anyone, knew how important it was to not let a traumatic moment cause you to stop your life. She knew how important it was for herself to get back out into the world, and she knew it was just as important for Noelle as well- which was why she was now in the bathroom applying makeup and trying to pin back her uncooperative hair, while Jamie sat on the couch snacking on his own and making her wish she was beside him.

Jamie had just turned the television from a silly sitcom he had seen a million times, to a sports channel, when he heard his cell phone beep with a new message.

Shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth, he traded out the remote for his phone and read the text message from his sister.

He sat the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of him, then stood up from the couch before making his way toward the bathroom.

With a light tap on the door, he called out,"Hey, Nol? Are you done? Erin text that she's on the way."

"Yeah." She said with a sigh. Looking at herself in the mirror one more time, she tried to pin a lone strip of hair back into the clip, then groaned when it fell out again and swung around the front to land in front of her left eye.

"Everything okay in there?" Jamie asked after hearing the noise she made.

"Yeah, just my hair being difficult."

"That one piece in the front that never wants to stay back?" He questioned, having grown up with her complaining about that piece of hair.

She was convinced the piece never grew back right after he cut her bangs too short- which he would always remind her she was the one that begged him to cut 'em, and she was also the one who moved her head right when he went to make the cut.

"That would be the one." She sighed in frustration when she tried to pin it back again. "You know the one that you cut too short."

"I told you that wasn't my fault, Nol." He stated. "You're the one who turned your head-"

"Because Joe opened the door!" She argued.

"We're not arguing about this again." He laughed and rested his forehead against the closed door. "Just wear it down. Your hair looks great down." He suggested.

"I guess I'm gonna have to." She mumbled as she pulled the clip out of her hair and watched it fall down her back and over her shoulders.

Running a hair through her hair to try to fluff it up some, she asked,"Hey, honey, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you find my black heels? The ones I wore to work the other day?" She questioned. "I think I kicked them off by the door, but they could also be by the bed."

Usually when she came in from work, losing her shoes was the first thing she did, but there were those hard days where she came in so tired she went right for the bed and fell face first. On those days, Jamie would find her passed out fully dressed when he came home. Instead of waking her, he would slip off her shoes and try his best to change her clothes without waking her up and let her rest.

"Okay, I'll find 'em and meet you in the living room." He said, backing away from the door. "Don't forget Erin will be here soon."

"I know. I'll be out in a few." She promised.

Checking by the door first, but not seeing the shoes, Jamie made his way toward the bed and saw one by the end of the bed. He grabbed it, then glanced under the bed and spied the other one.

With both shoes in his hand, he went to the couch and sat the shoes down carefully on the coffee table, then grabbed the bowl of popcorn and plopped back down on the couch. With his eyes on the television screen, he had just grabbed a handful of popcorn when he heard the bathroom door open, followed by her soft footsteps coming into the room.

Out of habit, he turned his head to look at her for a moment, then turned back toward the television, until he realized what she was wearing, then he snapped his head back to look at her with his mouth opened in surprise.

"I look ridiculous, right?" She questioned as she ran her hands over the red straight leg pants of the jumpsuit she had on.

The material clinged to her in all the right places like a second skin and the straps sat on her shoulders without digging in to her skin or slipping off. The top was a little more low cut than she would usually wear with a small cut out under the bust to show a little skin, but she had to admit it was comfortable. She normally wouldn't wear something like it, but after Linda picked it out for her during their last shopping trip and she tried it on she liked it.

Linda swore it had to have been made just for her and even talked her into buying a fiery red tube of lipstick to match- which she was also wearing at the moment. Even if she liked the way everything fit and looked, she still felt a little weird wearing it since it wasn't her normal style of clothing.

"No, no, not at all." He said, shaking his head. "You look... hot. Like- put my popcorn down and come kiss you- hot."

At his words, she let out a short chuckle, which grew louder as he sat the popcorn down just like he said and began to walk toward her.

"Keep your butter popcorn stained fingers away from me." She playfully warned as she pointed at him. "Plus, I'm a little mad you're eating popcorn without me anyways. You know how much I love popcorn."

"We'll pop another bag when you get home and resume our time together on the couch watching movies." He suggested as he wiped the butter from his hands on to his blue jeans, then wrapped his arms around her waist, locking his fingers behind her back to hold her in place.

"That was the last bag." She pouted.

"I'll buy more while you're gone, Nol." He laughed before leaning forward to capture her lips to stop any further whining.

It didn't take long into the kiss when he realized something was bothering her- something more than missing out on a night of popcorn and movies. He tried to pull her closer to him, but her body still felt tense and her bottom lip trembled under his lips.

Resting his forehead against hers, he slowly swayed them side to side, his tone soft as he asked,"What's wrong?"

"How do you know something's wrong?"

"Because I know you, Nol." He simply said as he pulled back to look at her. Placing his hands on either side of her face, he forced her to look at him and saw a quick glimpse of fear in her eyes- a familiar look that appeared whenever a certain stalker crossed her mind.

"I just… I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't go."

"Nol-"

"I mean, it's your first weekend off in a while where I'm off too." She cut him off.

"Nol-"

"So maybe we should do something." She said, interrupting him again. "We could rent that action movie that just came out on DVD. You really wanted to see it, remember? But our days off never lined up so we could see it in the theater."

"Noelle-"

She ignored his tone and the fact that he used her name, instead of a nickname, and continued to ramble,"We could grab takeout from Cathalina's. It's been awhile since we ate from there-"

"Hey… Look at me." He called out to stop her from talking. When her eyes met his, his tone soften as he said,"You don't have to be scared, baby."

"I'm not. I-I-"

"You are." He stated as he shot her a concern look. "And I get it, I do. You have every reason to be, but you know none of us are gonna let anything happen to you. Erin and Linda will be by your side the whole night, you won't be alone."

"I know, I just…" Blowing out a breath, she softly continued,"He out there and I just… I keep imagining all of these scenarios in my head of him just popping up out of the blue and I…"

"I know." He said with a nod when her voice trailed off.

He knew what it was like when those thoughts crossed her mind, because they crossed his as well. He was confident they would catch Jimmie, but like anyone else, he did have his doubts at times; like anytime it took her awhile to text him back or when she didn't answer him when he called, his mind would go into a panic that something was wrong.

At first he would try to remain calm and tell himself that she's busy at work, sleeping or running an errand, but then the fear kicks in and he worries if something has happened- maybe Jimmie has gotten to her again and he wasn't there to save her.

And that's not counting the nightmares he still has on and off, but he doesn't want to worry her with that- she is already paranoid enough and he doesn't want to add his own. He needs to be her rock and stay strong. She needed his reassuring that everything was going to be okay- she needed his optimism just like she has since they were kids.

Running a shaky hand through her hair, she let out a bitter chuckle and said,"You know, as crazy as it sounds, I can almost handle it better when he is leaving messages, because at least then we know where he has been… but he's been so quiet lately and that almost scares me more."

"I think he knows he can't get close to you."

"Which means he's probably out there coming up with another plan." She said, her voice growing more hysteric the more she spoke.

"Hey, shh… it's okay." He said, comforting her as he pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her. "He can come up with all the plans he want, but he's not going to hurt you again."

"But what about you?" She questioned as she pulled back to look at him, the fear in her eyes intensifying as she remembered the times he had been in danger. "Jamie, you're gonna be here alone-"

"I'm not gonna be alone." He cut her off.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"I'm meeting Danny for a beer."

"Oh, that's good." She said, feeling slightly better.

"Mm-hm." He hummed. "Me, Danny and Spencer."

"Spencer? My Spencer?" She questioned in surprise.

"Your Spencer?" He repeated with raised eyebrows.

With an eye roll, she added,"No, I don't mean like that- I just mean, my friend Spencer... You're having a beer with him?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Danny wanted to thank him for his help and since you girls are gonna be out having your girls night, we figured we would have a guys night."

"That sounds like fun." She smiled. Between being a cop himself and being with two detectives, she felt like it would be pretty impossible for Jimmie to get close to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, so, see, you don't have to worry about me and you don't have to worry about yourself either." He said, running a calming hand up and down her back. "I want you to have fun tonight, okay? Put everything out of your mind; all the stress and the worrying for the night and just have a drama-free, fun night."

"I'll try." She softly said before leaning forward to kiss him, but before her lips could touch his, he pulled back.

"I'm gonna need a little more reassurance than that."

"I'm gonna _try_ to have a drama-free, fun night." She tried to kiss him, then chuckled when he pulled back again.

"Try a little harder, Nol."

"I'm gonna try really, _really_ hard-"

"Nope." He cut her off with a head shake.

Throwing her head back with a dramatic groan, she lowered it to look at him and tried to hold back a smile.

"Fine! I'll have a fun night and-"

Before she could finish her sentence his lips were on hers for a heated kiss. He ran a hand through her hair and smiled against her lips when he heard her let out a soft moan and felt all the tension from before leave her body.

He wasn't sure how long they stood in the middle of his living room wrapped in each others arms- it wasn't long enough in his opinion- when they heard a buzz from the intercom system by the door, signalling that someone was outside the main door wanting in.

"That's Erin and Nicky." Noelle said against his lips. She gave him a soft kiss, then pulled back to add,"I gotta go."

"You know, on second thought, maybe you should stay." He teased as he tightened his hold on her and began to kiss her again.

With a laugh, she pulled back and shook her head at him. "And they say women can't make up their minds."

Laughing at her joke, he kissed the tip of her nose. "Remember, drama-free fun tonight."

"I remember." She chuckled, then turned to grab her shoes to slip on at the door as she spoke to Erin through the intercom system, letting her know she would be down soon.

Grabbing her purse, she blew out a breath, then turned toward Jamie and fought the urge to run back over to him- knowing he would keep her safe.

Giving her a soft smile, he said the words he knew she needed to hear,"It's gonna be okay, Nol."

She returned his smile and gave him a small nod, then turned to open the door and walk out.

The plan was simple- put Jimmie out of her mind and enjoy the night, but that was easier said than done as she made her way downstairs while looking over her shoulder and clenching a can of mace in her purse.

•••

After watching Noelle walk out the door, Jamie had to stop himself from running after her. He had no doubt Erin and Linda would watch out for her, but after being stuck to Noelle like glue the last week- or technically since he learned about Jimmie- it was difficult watching her leave without him by her side.

He knew he had to let her go though, he knew it wasn't healthy for him or her to be that dependent on each other. He would always be there for her, he would always protect her, but he knew there was a thin line between protective and obsessive- a line he was getting dangerously close to as he desperately tried to keep her safe.

After telling himself over and over that everything was going to be okay, he finally blew out a calming breath, then slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed his jacket by the door to leave and meet up with his brother and Spencer.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Jamie announced as he walked into the building and spied his brother sitting on a stool at the bar.

"It's okay. I just got here myself." Danny said, giving his brother's shoulder a quick pat as he walked past him.

"Where's Spencer?" Jamie questioned as he glanced around and slipped off his jacket, then laid it on the barstool beside him.

"Guess he's running late too." Danny answered with a shrug as he flagged down the bartender to order a beer for his brother.

Jamie nodded his thanks as the bottle was sat down in front of him. Ignoring the bottle for a moment, he slipped out his cell phone from his pants pocket. He glanced at it, seeing there was no new message or call, then sat it down on top of the bar before sitting down on the barstool.

Danny watched his little brother from the corner of his eye and saw him take a sip a beer, then grab the phone again to check it.

Hearing him let out a small sigh before sitting it back down, he raised his eyebrows as he asked,"Am I boring you already, kid?"

"No, no, it's... Nol was nervous about leaving and I-"

"Was nervous about watching her leave." Danny finished for him.

"Yeah." He breathed out as he ran a hand through his hair

"She'll be fine. She's with Linda and Erin, you know they'll look after her- even Nicky too." Danny said, knowing what was on his mind.

"No, I know, I told her the same thing before she left, but I still-"

"I know." Danny interrupted, his tone low and a look of understanding on his face. "But she's gonna be just fine, kid. That show is only for a few hours- it's brightly lite, a very public place with a lot of people around. I also know a couple of the guys who're working security and I know for a fact it's invite only. No one off the street can just walk in there... She's safe."

He knew all about that terrified feeling when the love of your life was in danger- even more so now after what happened with Linda- he could understand the way his brother was feeling, but he also knew it wasn't good for any of them to live their lives in fear.

"I know." Jamie sighed as he rested an arm on the wooden countertop, his hand near his phone just in case. Turning a bit in his seat to look at his brother, he continued,"Deep down I know that and I've been telling myself that ever since she walked out of the door… I tell myself that every time she walks out the door- for work or whatever- but then I remember he has gotten to her before. She even told me that she never saw him coming. She did everything she could to keep herself safe, but he still took her by surprise."

In his mind he could still hear the tone of her voice when she tearfully questioned what would happen if Jimmie surprised her again and took her. He could also see the look of relief on her face when he promised her he would never stop looking for her. Her fear was being taken again from her loved ones, never to return because no one looked for her anymore.

With his eyes gazing at his phone, he continued,"He's been a little too close for comfort lately, and I'm trying so hard to be strong for her- I know the moment I slip up and she sees how worried I am, then it'll cause her stress to skyrocket, but I am worried and the longer he's out there, the more I worry."

"I know." Danny nodded in understanding- truthfully, they were all worried about Noelle and Jamie's safety, but just like Jamie didn't want to show his fear to Noelle, none of them wanted to show their fear to him- call it a Reagan family trait.

"But he can't stay hidden forever." He added after taking a sip of his beer. "At some point he will make a move and that's when we'll grab him."

Dragging his eyes from the cell phone, Jamie released a bitter chuckle, then said,"You know, she's actually more scared now that he hasn't done anything than when he was. She's terrified he's just gonna pop up out of the blue and honestly, I am too."

"Let him." Danny shrugged with a look of determination on his face. "It'll be the last mistake he makes... the first was going after her to begin with."

"Yeah." Jamie mumbled as picked at the label on the bottle in his hands, his heart hurting as he thought about all she went through in Florida and how he wasn't there to protect her from the beginning.

The brothers were quiet for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts, until they heard the door open, followed by someone walking toward them. They turned their heads and saw Spencer, who shot them a quick apologetic look before slipping off his jacket and sitting on the stool beside Danny.

With a sigh he flagged down the bartender to order a beer, then lifted the bottle with a sarcastic cheers before drinking half of it in one swallow.

"Bad day?" Danny questioned with raised eyebrows.

"You could say that." Spencer scoffed before taking another swallow.

"That sneaky son of a bitch..." He began to say, not having to elaborate on who he was talking about- they knew exactly who he meant. "The past few days, I've been searching every abandoned building or house in Elle's neighborhood with no luck. I keep thinking he's got to be nearby- I mean, he did that in Florida. Afterwards we discovered he had taken over this rundown house a couple of streets over from her apartment building so he could keep an eye on her easier, but so far, I can't find where he's hiding out here."

"Maybe you need to broaden the search." Danny suggested.

"Or maybe you're looking in the wrong places." Jamie said with his head lowered and eyes on his phone. Feeling the other two looking at him, he raised his head and added,"Maybe he's going about things differently this time."

"His MO is the same. The way he's stalking her and leaving things." Spencer pointed out.

"But he's not stupid. He knows we're looking for him." Jamie said. "In his mind we're keeping them apart, I mean, that's why he came after me, right? I'm a threat and in the way, so he might change a thing or two to stay one step ahead of us."

"He's right." Danny nodded. "Which also might explain why he brought in a partner this time around."

"True." Spencer said, realizing they might be right. Ordering another beer, he cleared his throat and felt his mouth go dry as he admitted,"I actually had an idea about the partner, but I hope to hell I'm wrong."

Seeing both of the brothers looking at him, he blew out a breath and asked,"What if it's her brother?"

"Baylor?" Jamie asked with wide eyes.

"Shit." Danny quietly swore as he ran a hand over his face. "I hate to admit it, but the thought has crossed my mind."

"So you think it's possible? I mean, he would do something like that?" Spencer questioned.

"If he's high or in desperate need for a fix... anything is possible." Danny said. "Recently he got involved with a kidnapping case of mine. The kidnappers promised him money if he showed up at the drop."

"And that wasn't long after he was released from the hospital for a drug overdose." Jamie added. "Nol had hoped that would push him to get help and get better, but as soon as he was released he disappeared. She was devastated and that wasn't the first time he has broken her heart."

"Damn." Spencer mumbled as he shook his head. "Sounds like he has really put her through the wringer. I never knew any of this- hell I didn't even know she had a brother until recently. She never mentioned him."

"She doesn't talk about him much in general. I think it hurts her too much." Jamie pointed out, he knew it was a sore subject for her.

She had talked to him some about her brother on and off through the years, when it became too much for her, but usually she just kept it to herself. He hated seeing her suffer in silence, but knew if he pushed her it would just make it worse. All he could do was be there for her when she did want to talk- which he always was.

"I get that." Spencer quietly said, thinking of certain things from his own past. Everyone had certain chapters of their lives they didn't want to speak out loud about.

From things that happened to him growing up, to losing his mother and watching her case go unsolved, to having to live with strict grandparents he never met because his mother had tried so hard to keep him away from them for good reason. Then there were the things he had witnessed on the job or things he had done to solve a case; needless to say he had a whole library full of stories he didn't speak out loud about.

"If Baylor is involved, then things are worse than we thought." Danny sighed before taking a sip of his beer and suddenly wishing he had ordered something stronger.

"Yeah, it's going to destroy Nol." Jamie said, reaching out for his cell phone and unlocking the screen. He felt his heart break when he saw the screensaver- a picture of Noelle he took recently at his apartment.

The two had been watching a movie and for a brief moment her defenses were down and she didn't look terrified or looking over her shoulders- for that brief moment she had a smile on her face and looked a lot like the Noelle he remembered.

Now there was a chance that someone she loved and trusted had teamed up with her worst nightmare. That was something he wasn't sure she would ever be able to come back from.

"Yeah, but also it means that Jimmie isn't just harassing her or going after you." Danny added, looking over at his brother. Turning his attention toward Spencer as well, he continued,"He's doing his research and learning things about everyone she cares about. It's like we're all pawns in his game and once we're all in position-"

"That's when he'll make his move." Spencer finished for him and realized he was right; things had definitely taken a turn for the worst.

Jimmie's plan in Florida was simple- stalk Noelle until he could get her alone to grab her, but this time he was going about things a different way and they needed to stay a step ahead of him, figure out what his next move was, or this was a game they would lose and the winner would take all- which in this case happened to be Noelle.

•••

Arriving at the fashion show, Nicky was instantly taken in by all the glamorous outfits and the flashing lights while Noelle tried to relax and not reach into her purse to grab the can of mace every time someone got too close.

When a camera man rushed past them to snap pictures of the group of more important people arriving behind them, Noelle couldn't stop herself for jumping back a step and pulling in a deep breath as she felt her heart rate speed up.

Feeling someone take her hand, she turned her head and saw Erin give her a look, as if asking if she was okay. Forcing a smile, Noelle nodded her head, letting her know she was fine.

"Look at that lady's shoes!" Nicky gasped, getting the other two's attention when she pointed to a pair of expensive gold high heels.

A genuine smile appeared on Noelle's face at seeing how excited the younger girl was. She remembered what it was like at that age to get excited about something simple; like the time her father took her to football game or the time she and Jamie were finally able to see a certain movie they had counted down for months to see. She hoped Nicky would never lose that excitement and innocence, maybe they all could do a better job at protecting her from how cruel the world could really be and keep her younger for longer.

While Nicky talked with her mother, thanking her for letting her come to the show, Noelle slipped her cell phone out of her purse and unlocked it to see the picture of Jamie she had set for the background on her phone.

It was a recent picture, taken in the last week or so while the two were having lunch during a break in his tour. He still had his uniform on and looking handsome as ever when a couple with two small kids approached them looking for directions. The smile on his face while he pointed them in the area they needed to go while answering the kids questions about being a cop, was one she just had to document for safe keeping.

With a sigh, she slipped the phone back into her purse to stop herself from texting him. She had a feeling doing so would be the opposite of what he wanted her to do. It would be hard to have a relaxing and fun night if she spent it texting him to make sure he was okay.

"Where's Aunt Linda?" Nicky asked.

"I don't know." Erin answered while glancing around the crowded area to look for her sister-in-law.

"Probably traffic or parking." Noelle stated, jumping into the conversation. "Both are pretty crazy right now. Feels like half of New York is here."

"No kidding." Erin said with a soft chuckle.

"Can't we go inside?" Nicky asked her mom. "I'm dying to see Cousin Sofie. I can't believe she's opening fashion week."

Erin opened her mouth to answer, until she spotted Linda coming toward them and waved her over.

"God, the traffic." Linda complained as she came to a stop in front of the trio. "And the parking rates are outrageous. You know they hiked them up for all this."

"Well, look who's bringing sexy back." Erin teased as she reached out to tap Linda's arm.

"Oh, stop it." Linda said before placing her hands on her hips and jokingly striking a small pose.

"I told you red is your color too." Noelle said with a smile. The day they went shopping, after Linda picked out a red jumpsuit for her, she convinced Linda to find a equally beautiful red dress to try on.

"They're not kidding. You look fierce." Nicky spoke up in agreement.

"Ah, so do you." Linda said back, then began to walk past them as she said,"Let's go."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, wait. There's a tag." Erin pointed out after spying the small white tag poking out the back of the dress.

"Oh, no, no. Don't touch it." Linda exclaimed as she quickly turned around to stop Erin. Lowering the tone of her voice, she added,"I'm returning it tomorrow."

"Oh, my God! You weren't kidding." Noelle chuckled, remembering Linda mentioning that she was keeping the tags on the dress to return later. She had laughed then too thinking she was joking, only now realizing she was dead serious.

"Linda Reagan." Erin gasped.

"I know. I know. I'm a horrible person." After crossing herself, Linda added,"I already said a preemptive novena."

"This smells like a Wendy thing." Erin said, referring to Linda's sister.

"You know me and my sister." Linda said, having a hard time keeping the bitterness from her tone.

"You graduated at the top of your class. You spent ten years on the floor at Kings General, and you are a world-class mom." Erin pointed out.

"She's right, Linda." Noelle added. "Your paths might have taken you two to different places, but you made a pretty great life for yourself. You have nothing to prove."

"You're sweet. Both of you." Linda said as she flashed them a smile. As they began to walk toward the entrance she continued,"All she sees is that I still bear the Scarlet Letter of New York City- the dreaded 718 Staten Island area code."

"Speaking of which..." Erin quietly said as the woman they were talking about began to approach them.

While Nicky had a genuine smile on her face, the other three women plastered on a smile as they greeted Wendy. After Linda hugged her sister, she quickly commented on the dress she was wearing- asking her who the designer was and commenting that it must have cost Danny a lot of money.

Noelle turned her head to the side to look at Erin, both slightly rolling their eyes. It was comments like that that made Linda feel like she had to show she was more than a wife of a detective and mother to two adorable boys.

But in Noelle's mind, Linda was living the dream life- as much as she loved her job, she couldn't wait for the day she got to marry the love of her life and raise a family together. It was the life she imagined since she was a little girl.

While lost in her own thoughts, Noelle missed most of the conversation when Wendy commented on Erin's cheekbones and spoke about how much Nicky had blossomed. She was only pulled out of her thoughts when she heard her own name being said.

"You remember Noelle Kelley, right?" Linda asked her sister. Placing an arm around Noelle, she added,"She lived next street over from the Reagans'."

"Always around your younger brother, right? Jamie?" Wendy said, her questioned aimed toward Erin.

"Yep. Those two were inseparable." Erin answered.

"Still are." Nicky added, then with a huge smile continued,"They're actually dating now."

"Really? I thought he was engaged to that lawyer." Wendy questioned with wide eyes. "Very scandalous."

"No. No, no, no scandal." Noelle corrected her, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "The engagement was called off and he was single before anything happened."

"Oh, no, honey, I wasn't judging." Wendy laughed as she grabbed one of Noelle's hands and gave it a squeeze. "Good for you two, he's a catch. It's a shame about the career change though, but you're a medical examiner, right? So you two should be okay."

Noelle opened her mouth to argue that she didn't care about the money- all that mattered to her was that Jamie had a career he loved the way she loved hers, but before she could say a word, Wendy turned her attention to everyone and continued to talk.

"I am so excited you guys are here. This is the day we've been working for since Sofie started modeling. Backstage is a madhouse. We can't all go."

Speaking to Noelle, Erin and Nicky, she added,"You guys find your seats." Reaching out for Linda's hand, she stated,"You are coming with me."

After the sisters left, Noelle turned to Erin with wide eyes and her mouth opened in shock. With a small shake of the head, she quietly asked the older woman,"Did that really just happened?"

"Mmhm." Erin hummed.

"She's worse than I remember." Noelle commented. In the three years since she had seen Wendy she had kinda forgot how snobby and pretentious she could be- she had started to think maybe she had imagined how bad she was. You would think someone kin to Linda wouldn't be that stuck up.

"You're telling me." Erin mumbled as she laid her hands on her daughter's shoulder and turned her toward the area they needed to go toward to find their seats.

Noelle began to walk along beside Erin, then learned toward her as she whispered,"Good thing it's not raining or she might drown from having her nose so far in the air."

"Shh." Erin whispered back with a chuckle. Shooting the brunette a look, she playfully scold,"Be nice, Noelle."

"What are you two talking about?" Nicky questioned as she turned her head to look at the two older women walking behind her.

"Nothing." Erin answered as she turned her back toward the front.

"Fine." Noelle snickered, referring to Erin's earlier comment to her. "But, you know you were thinking the same thing."

"I plead the fifth."

Noelle couldn't stop a loud laugh for escaping her lips at Erin's comment. "You know your brother has tried to use that on me too. Doesn't work for him either."

"Can't blame a Reagan for trying." Erin joked as they reached their seats up front and sat down.

The two women changed the subject and began to glance around with Nicky as she pointed out different outfits that she loved, then they all had a good laugh when Noelle commented that she wished she had popcorn or Cracker Jacks for the show.

Minutes later, the overhead lights began to dim and other lights began to flash to signal the start of the show. Linda and Wendy made their way over to their seats as music began to play and the first model stepped out to walk down the catwalk.

It took Noelle some time to get use to all the flashing light of the cameras, but after a while, she had to admit the show was fun and she was finally starting to relax like Jamie wanted her to. With a smile on her face, she laughed and talked with the others as they commented on each models outfit.

When Sofie stepped out they all couldn't stop gushing about how stunning she looked and Noelle couldn't help but be impressed by how well she was walking in high heels with so many camera flashes in her face. She just knew if it was her she would have already fell flat on her face.

As if she could read her thoughts, Noelle saw Sofie stumble and come to a stop before she collapse on the stage. She softly gasp and placed a hand over her mouth, thinking she had just tripped, until she realized she wasn't getting up.

Getting out of her seat, she hopped on to the stage with Linda and Wendy, kneeling beside Sofie as she and Linda quickly checked over her.

"I have a pulse." Linda said, holding her niece's wrist between her fingers.

"She's unresponsive." Noelle stated as she leaned down closer to Sofie's face to see if she was breathing. Leaning up, she looked at Linda,"Her breathing is too slow. Give her one breath every five seconds. No chest compressions, just breaths."

"Why no compressions? What's going on?" Wendy asked hysterically.

"Because she has a pulse." Noelle explained. "Which means blood is flowing, her heart is pumping, but she's not breathing like she should and she's not responding."

As Linda tilted her niece's head back, they heard a scream on the other side of the room when another person collapsed, getting Noelle's attention.

"Keep going, I'll be back." Noelle said to Linda as she stood up and made her way down the stairs and over to the other woman laying on the floor.

After kneeling down beside her, she tapped the woman's shoulder and asked if she was okay. When she didn't get a response, she leaned forward to place her ear closer to the woman's mouth and lowered her eyebrows in concern when she didn't hear her breathing. Placing a finger against her neck had her even more concern when she couldn't find a pulse.

Sitting back on her heels, she looked up at the few concerned people surrounded the woman and shot them an apologetic look. Unlike Sofie, there was nothing that could be done about this woman; no amount of rescue breaths or chest compressions were gonna help- the poor woman was already dead.

•••

 _A/N; Not gonna lie, I enjoyed writing the boys hanging out. I feel like those three could get some stuff figured out and kick some ass together! Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story to your faves._

 _Big thanks to_ _traceyaudette, NewYorkChicago22061940, January Lily, jlmayer, Rasiel Hasu, werks, snm1, AugustRrush, mcgeeksgirl, Bethers, BLBLF and monkeybaby_ _for reviewing since last chapter. I'm glad I haven't lost you all!_

 _If you're not already, you can follow me on tumblr (missecharlotte) for story related edits and videos- I posted a Nol x Jamie video a few months ago. Or if you ever want to shoot me a message on there, that's fine too!_

 _Happy reading!_  
 _xx_


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